My Light, My Darkness
by Meta Bunny
Summary: Nick has darkness in his heart, Judy is the light that protects him from it. But when two different evils, one new, one old, seek to reveal a dark secret of predators, the balance of predator and prey falls to potential ruin. Can Nick and Judy stop the anarchy before it starts? Or will they loose at this fight against fate?
1. Shadows at the Edge of Light

Life is such a wonderful thing, isn't it? Life can be either a benevolent saint that which protects and heals all of the pain or a malevolent sadist that would batter us with never-ending scars, sucking our tears like a leach as we are pulled into the darkness; the one that lives in the heart and mind of everyone we know and love, _including_ you.

Some know the darkness more than others; those lucky enough have only received invisible cuts, barely realising those temporary wounds; vanishing in the passing instant. However, not everyone can have that. Not everyone can have the "and they lived happily ever after" story desired by many. No, some have felt the stab of darkness so many times that its sting has become a numb memory, and the light that protects them from the darkness is evanescent concept.

One who would know that level of pain is none other than Nicholas Piberius Wilde (or just Nick Wilde).

Could ya blame him? When he was young, about eight or nine, all he wanted to do was become a Junior Ranger Scout and make the world a better place. So his mother scraped together enough money to buy him a uniform for when he was going to be initiated into Pack 914.

It was the happiest moment of the little kit's life, he was going to fulfil his biggest dream, even though he was going to be the only predator animal in the pack.

As he entered the building, he was greeted by the Junior Ranger Scouts: a woodchuck, a hippo, a zebra, a deer and a wildebeest.

 _'I, Nicholas Wilde, promise to be brave, loyal, helpful and trustworthy.'_

But in the next instant it became one of his biggest scars.

 _'_ _Even though your a **fox**?'_

Before the young kit could even fully understand what the woodchuck meant, he was pushed onto the ground and held down by the other Scouts. And muzzled.

 _'If you thought we would ever trust a fox without a muzzle, you're even dumber than you look.'_

Nick ran out of the building, all while the Junior Ranger Scouts laughed and mocked him, crying like his world had just been destroyed and shattered before his own eyes. _Because it did._

The young kit pulled the muzzle off and threw it at the street, incomparable feelings of anger, hate and general sadness flooded through every part of his being. He learned that Zootopia wasn't where predator and prey could live together in perfect harmony _(Because that place doesn't exist)_. He grew a hateful grudge to all animals that where either prey or bigoted.

He learned two very important things that day. One: If the world was going to see foxes as nothing more but sly, untrustworthy scoundrels then there was no meaning in trying to change that and accept what he was born as. And two: _'_ _Never let 'em see that they get to you'_.

At the age of twelve he was already hustling people out of their money. By the age of fifteen or sixteen, his mother found out about these hustles. He remembered the look of pure heartbreak on her face, that her innocent little kit had became this: a con artist: the very thing that every fox was seen as by prejudice. The very thing that got Nick's father, a fair and honest shop tailor, shot and killed.

Nick couldn't handle the look that his mother had worn: Betrayal. So he ran away. Even when he heard the voice of his mother, sounding as shattered as she was, calling out to him, calling him to stop and come back, he continued to run.

He finally stopped when he was underneath a bridge, and cried. He cried and cried until he could cry no longer.

He continued hustling, always with that same smirk on his face to hide his true pain.

Along his way and life as a con artist, Nick managed to get on the good side of Mr. Big, the most infamous and feared crime boss in Zootopia. Nick _was_ on Mr. Big's good side until he sold the artic shrew an expensive rug made from the butt of a skunk.

Mr. Big was so mad that he threatened Nick; that if he where to show his face to Big ever again he would be killed.

Not wanting to get murdered by the crime boss (or to be more accurate: his polar bear henchmen) Nick ran as far as he could.

Luckily Nick had a back up plan: Finnick.

Finnick is a fennec fox so, like Nick, he was a con artist. But, unlike Nick, Finnick didn't mind being a con artist (or at least not as much).

Since Finnick was unbelievably small, something that Nick would constantly tease about to torture the poor fennec, their regular routine was that Finnick was Nick's son, little toot-toot, and they would trick any regular air-headed mammal into "helping" them with a "problem" (although since some of said problems were by prejudice it being a problem could be considered true) and then use that "help" to scam even more mammals. But it was _their_ fault, _they_ made him untrustworthy so they should have known better.

So the two foxes would live up to the immutable status quo that was "bestowed" onto them since birth. But the truth was that Nick secretly wanted to be something different, something that would help others, not manipulate them, something that help society, not make it seem worse, something that would stop the stereotype on all foxes, not prove it right. But he couldn't; he's just a sly fox. That's all that he will ever be.

Or so he thought.

* * *

Flash forward by a few years until you reach sometime when he was thirty-two. Recent news sprung around Zootopia that Mayor Lionheart had decided to make a bunny, of all animals, a police officer. this had some controversy: some thought that Lionheart was being good at his job and proved that at Zootopia anyone can become anything. Some thought that the mayor was doing a stupid decision that would put an innocent rabbit into her early grave. The second thought would often be mixed with a third thought: that all that Lionheart cared about was his own image, that the new officer was just a token bunny to make him look good.

Nick believed in mixture of thought two and three. _"That dumb bunny wouldn't survive even one week in Zootopia"_

Although... at the same time... he felt... proud. He felt a feeling of admiration. He felt that if a bunny could become a cop then... does a fox really have a chance?

He quickly shook that thought off, believing that he probably was just in need of sleep. _"All that dumb bunnies are good for is growing crops and mating... right?"_

Little did he know about what the little bunny was capable of: she solved a case about missing mammals (with his help), exposed Bellwether for who she really was, fixed Zootopia at least just a bit, made him, _him_ a _fox_ of all animals, become a police cop and got him to reunite with his mother! He remembered the look on her face: proud and full of love.

This bunny, who went by the name of Judy Hopps, fixed him. She _fixed_ him.

But Nick would admit: when he would look back into the past he wouldn't feel like the proudest fox _or_ cop. One that he felt as being an amalgam of happiness and regret was the very day he met Judy. On one side: he met her and she would eventually become the best thing in his life. _That_ was what he felt happy about.

And then there is _how_ they met: He emotionally manipulated her into thinking Finnick was his son and made her pay up her money so _he_ could make his own profit. And when she found out? He didn't care, in fact he insulted her ( _'dumb bunny'_ ) and told her that her dreams are pathetic and she just go back to where she came.

Nick would sometimes growl at that memory without fully realising it; a subconscious action if you will.

He had grown to see Judy as his closest friend; the only one in the world that he could trust. He cared for the bunny, he cared for her a lot.

Because he knew that, despite how hard she tries to hide it and how hard everyone believed it, she had her weaknesses. Much like how he needed her, she need him also. To see past _her_ prejudice, to prove herself, to survive her own reckless behaviour. She would act without thinking and sometimes forget about the proper needed equipment. If it wasn't for him, she'd be lying in a coffin as we speak.

But, most of all, he knows that like every animal, from the newest born chick to the mightiest elephant, she has limits to her abilities. Even if she can knock a rhino down, she isn't unbreakable. She would have her moments of vulnerability (her first speech about 'savage' animals being enough evidence) and he would be there as her partner, her _friend_ , to bring her back up.

He didn't know why but, for some reason, her imperfections was another thing about her that he liked, that he _loved_. Maybe it was because it proved that, while she definitely wasn't a token bunny, she wasn't invincible. She's only a normal- yet unique- mammal, after all.

So after Nick became a police officer he swore an oath to protect the city of Zootopia. But he also swore a second oath. Not to Judy, nor the city, but himself; to protect his rabbit at all costs, even with his final breath. No matter how strong the enemy was, no matter how impossible the odds were, even if he was going beyond all of his limits, he would still at least try. Try until his body breaks like sand, that was his oath. And if she died under _his_ protection, then he really is nothing more than an untrustworthy fox, and he would gladly walk into _Hell_ to be punished for his irredeemable failure.

He will not let anything hurt the light that protects him from the darkness.

But if Fate can bring something good into his life; Fate can bring it out.

* * *

Nick and Judy entered the main hall of the ZPD. While the fox was drinking coffee to make his body become fully awake, the bunny ran to the receptionist, Clawhauser, in her usual energetic and optimistic behaviour. After putting his empty coffee cup in the bin, Nick caught up with the crazy two, his trademark smirk in place, doing its usual job of hiding his true emotions. _Don't let it show_. The bunny and the cheetah were talking about Gazelle's latest single, but Nick didn't really listen, he was distracted by Judy.

Or, to be accurate, her body. It looked fragile and delicate, yet strong and empowering. Her fur, while silver, was richer than gold. And her eyes, they were purple jewels that could show both kindness and seriousness. How had he not noticed all of this before? She was incredible in not only the personality department, but the physical department also.

Nick's heart raced like a cheetah on a sugar rush (unless if that cheetah was Clawhauser) and his cheeks and ears burned like fire! But instead of discomfort, he felt an odd yet enjoyable sensation. He knew he felt like this towards her for a long while, but everyday she somehow made it harder to keep them secret. He had to tell her, but he needed the right opportunity. He wanted to tell her so badly. He _needed_ _her_ so badly!

"C'mon Nick" Judy said as she grabbed Nick's paw, throwing him back to reality. Nick had a face of confusion before slipping back into his face as Judy dragged him to the bullpen, she may be small but she is strong. Judy suddenly stopped, in front of her and Nick was Amy Pouncar.

Amy Pouncar was a lioness, with a well built body that could compare to an athlete. But what was considered as her most noticeable feature was a black spot that surrounded her left eye, she was apparently born with it, but the reason why was inexplicable. Even though she was new, arriving only three or four weeks ago, but you probably wouldn't tell otherwise because she was serious, straightforward and explicit, having a very no nonsense presence at all times, even when _off_ duty.

"Hey Amy!" Judy said in a very cheerful tone. Amy was very aloof, not being even the slightest bit concerned in befriending those around her and having no patience for anyone who she saw as silly nor an interest in anything that her co-workers saw as "fun". Even Bogo would have his moments where he would crack a joke or show a softer side to the grumpy buffalo that he was seen as. No one, not even Clawhauser, could get on friendly terms with the lioness. No one but...

"Hello Judy" Amy replied happily, a genuine smile on her face. No one but Judy could get on friendly terms with her. It was kinda weird really, when Amy graduated to the ZPD, some of the other officers tried to become her friend. Sadly, she seemed uninterested in befriending anyone. Yet when she met up with Judy the two became friends instantly, like they already knew each other for a long while. What's even more is that, despite being one year older, the lioness seemed to respect the little bunny. It was assumed that it was because Judy inspired Amy to quit her job as a waitress at Taste of Instinct- a popular bar among predators. Or maybe it was because Judy (along Nick) proved to be one of the ZPD's best cops.

"You seem to be in a good mood today, Serious-spot" Nick said with his smirk put back in its place, resting his elbow on Judy's head- much to the bunny's annoyance. "So I won't be needin' to worry about you killing me 'cause of my jokes, right?". Big mistake! Amy stared at him with those amber eyes that penetrated the nightmares of many criminals that found themselves arrested by the no nonsense lioness. Lions are know to be scary when you get them mad, like really angry, and Amy, with those eyes that could mimic those of a savage, was a good example.

"My name is Amy Pouncar" Amy said, looking like she was ready to shred Nick apart like paper "and I expect my co-workers to refer to me by my name" her glare loosening a bit "Nicholas." she then then turned her head towards Nick's partner "Judy." she said with a smile before turning around and walking towards the bullpen "see you in the bullpen. Don't take too long, we have six minutes before work actually starts".

Nick waited until Amy was completely out of earshot "Geez, does she eat a nighthowler when she wakes up in the morning? She makes Bogo look like the prince of the fairy people." Nick then started laughing. But Judy was silent. Nick noticed this "Something wrong, Carrots?".

She turned her face towards him, she looked sad. Before Nick could say a word, Judy spoke "It's not really her fault" the bunny's eyes looked down and to the side "she can't exactly control her aloofness. She has a kind heart on the inside, you know that" -after the incident with the hippo calf, everyone in ZPD knew that Amy wasn't as stonehearted as believed- "she just has troubles with building relationships, even when she was a cub. Especially because of..." Judy realised that she was telling too much. Or, at least, what she thought was too much. "N-never mind." Judy said, trying to pretend that she never said anything "We'll talk about it later."

"Carrots-" Nick said with concern, but Judy stopped him. "We'll talk about it later!" she did a big sigh before looking at the floor "We have... a lot to talk about tonight. There are things that we need to get off our chests. At our house."

Oh yeah, Nick and Judy have a home together, as roommates. _"But I want to be more than just a roommate"_. They decided to split the rent and live together, if they're friends and partners then they can be roommates. It was Nick and Judy. And Finnick. Since Nick became a cop, foxes started to stop being scoundrels and become regular mammals of society. Not by a huge leap, but it was better than nothing. The fennec now worked in delivery, _honest_ delivery, and since the two cops gave him such a nice offer, he took it. They were his closest friends after all, at least he felt as though they were his closest friends. Although his relationship with his roommates definitely wasn't romantic, he already had a lady friend.

But Nick didn't care if Finnick- or even all of Zootopia- knew, she needed to know. Even if she felt differently, even if she wanted to stay friends, he would still love her, forever and ever. Heh, would you believe it? She really changed his view of the world, a lot. Now he's in love with a bunny, but you already knew that, didn't you? If you'd tell him that before he met Judy he would think that you escaped from the Zootopia insane asylum.

"If you keep on staring into space like that, I'll need to get a new partner." Judy joked, throwing Nick back to reality (again) "The officers of the ZPD aren't expected to just daydream like that, there are animals- both predator and prey- to protect in this city, you know." she said half jokingly and half seriously. Not wanting to be sucked back into his thought bubble, Nick followed Judy into the bullpen.

Since Bogo wasn't in it yet, the bullpen was chaos. Ya know: usual. When Nick got halfway to his (and Judy's) seat an arm went around his neck, putting him in a firm grip. Nick knew what was going to happen. He got a strong noogie on the head by officer Wolford. "Did you think you could just walk in here and escape a noogie, Foxy?" the timber wolf asked jokingly.

Nick chuckled as he removed himself from Wolford's grip and noogie. "No." he said, his smirk was there as ever, although it was more honest this time. "I just assumed that your knuckle would be left sore after a few weeks of trying to break my thick skull, Wolfy." The fox and wolf looked at each other silently before bursting into laughter.

Wolford was at first just a co-worker, nothing more. But since Nick and Judy (especially the latter) wanted to become friends with their fellow officers, Wolford found himself being a best friend of the duo and loved them both (non-romantically) greatly. He proved to be a loyal friend, the type to stand by you at all times, even if hell descended upon the planet, and wouldn't let anyone who messed with their friends get off scot-free. He definitely was a 'one in a million' type of friend.

Nick wasn't dramatically surprised; bringing out the best of, and befriending, others was like a forte for Judy Hopps.

Nick joined up with his partner on their seat that was larger then both of them put together; alongside them being partners, that was why they shared it. " _Tonight._ " the fox thought to himself " _I'll tell her tonight._ "

* * *

"Atten-hut!"

The bullpen went silent suddenly, like Nick and Judy had been teleported to a parallel universe. The bullpen would _always_ go silent when officer Higgins said 'Atten-hut!', because that was him announcing chief Bogo's arrival. The cape buffalo was highly respected by most of his officers, he was the chief for a reason.

"It's good to see that you are all here." the chief said as he put his glasses on, files in hand "There are a few things to announce, but I don't care so I won't waste anytime other these needless announcements."

"As cheerful as always I see" Nick said with a smirk, earning him a laugh from some of his fellow officers. Nick looked to his side to his bunny giving him a smirk of her own. _"My bunny"_ he thought.

"Quiet! All of you!" Bogo shouted, quieting his officers. Bogo was aggressive sometimes, usually when he has a bad day. And the chief was aggressive like this, _everyone_ was scared of him, even Nick. The cape buffalo cleared his throat and quietly apologised. "Oh, and Fangmeyer." the buffalo looked at the tiger, who was sweating in fear "Tell your sister that she has my congratulations on her new cub."

Fangmeyer wiped his forehead with a 'phew'. Some of his co-workers were gonna give him a 'whoop' or ask if the cub was a boy or girl, but Bogo still looked rather angry so everyone remain quiet.

"Now, without anymore interruptions I think we can finally get work started" the cape buffalo said to his officers. The bunny and fox duo watched as their other officers were given files to different tasks, from patrols to stake outs. "Pouncar" the buffalo called out.

"Yes chief Bogo?" the lioness said as she got up from her seat.

"There has been reports of the lunatic who escaped from the Zootopia Mental Asylum, this file contains his theorised place of hiding." Bogo said as he handed the file to Amy "Find that pyromaniac and return him to where he belongs."

"Yes sir!" Amy said with a salute before running out of the bullpen.

Bogo then faced Judy and Nick "Hopps, Wilde" he said calmly "there have also been multiple reports of suspicious activity at an abandoned warehouse on the south-west of Zootopia, investigate it and confirm if action is needed. Remember: get the full information first, I _don't_ want this to be like the July eighteenth incident."

Nick shuddered "So much paperwork". Judy chuckled at her partner, even if she didn't know if he was serious or not, the amount of paperwork was really overbearing- not to offend any bears or anything. Judy took the file "You can count on us chief!" she said with a salute before taking her partner by the hand to their case.

Chief Bogo left the bullpen and went to his office. As soon as he entered his office, Bogo slumped onto his chair, groaning loudly. "Christ!" he yelled before rubbing his eyes with his hooves "What a day.". He didn't mean to be this grumpy, he just felt like that since he has awoken. _"Maybe a coffee will help."_ Bogo thought to himself. He was about to get off his chair but he stopped. Bogo looked around his office carefully; no one was there. The cape buffalo listened carefully; no one was near. Bogo grinned, bringing out his phone from his pocket . _"My coffee can wait."_ he thought as he started to play Gazelle on his phone. Being _both_ a serious police chief _and_ a fan of pop singers can be embarrassing. Thank god that Clawhauser agreed to keep the secret between the two.

 _'Don't worry chief, I will keep the secret. You are my good friend after all.'_

Those words spoken by the chubby cheetah still lingered in the buffalo's head. Whatever; everyone else was busy so the buffalo took the chance to be more of his true self. But even when enjoying Gazelle's music, Bogo couldn't shake off this uninviting feeling that grew from his gut. _"They'll be fine."_ the cape buffalo thought _"They're small, but they're stronger than most big mammals. I doubt anything serious will happen."_

He couldn't be any more wrong if he tried.

* * *

"Come on you lazy fox." Judy said to Nick from inside the police cruiser, tapping her finger in impatience. The fox got into the cruiser and onto the seat next to Judy. A smirk grew on bunny's face "At this point even a sloth can outrun you." she joked. She pushed down on the pedal to get to their destination, all while chuckling to herself.

Nick grinned _"Sly, beautiful bunny."_ he thought, his grin suddenly becoming the signature smirk _"But if you think that I'm gonna let you get the last laugh, your also a little dumb."_

"I can't believe you would compare me like that." he faked the feeling of being offend "I thought you were my best friend."

"You know I'm joking Nick." Judy said, her eyes focused on the road.

But Nick wasn't done yet. Putting on a Oscar worthy expression of heartbreak, betrayal and hatred, all of which were feigned, "What's next? You're gonna joke about putting a muzzle on me?". A feeling of real guilt was creeping onto Judy's face, causing Nick to smirk even more on the inside. He hated seeing her upset, but when she realises it was just a joke, she'll laugh with him.

Judy stopped the cruiser at a red traffic light. The bunny turned towards her partner, she was taking the bait perfectly "I-I would never do anything like that, Nick. You know I wouldn't.". Tears were starting to seep from the corners of her eyes. "Y-you know I would never try to hurt you. We're partners, we've known each other better than anyone else. I would never even think of doing something so cruel and vile." It took Nick his all to keep this façade, that bunny of his could break through all of his walls without trying. Judy looked at her best friend who held a look of (feigned) pure betrayal. _"N-no this c-can't be."_ Judy thought, a pain in her heart began as she feared that this would be the end of her relationship with Nick _"I don't want to lose this friendship that I've had with him."_ tears were pouring out from Judy's eyes, this can't be true. "I'm sorry Nick!" she shouted, she had her whole body facing him, her hands gripping onto the chest area of his uniform "I didn't mean to hurt you! I-I didn't know that you would take it to heart! I-I'm sorry if I'm a horrible bunny! I-"

 _'I'm a horrible bunny!'_

Judy's eyes widened as she looked at Nick; a smug smile on his face as he held a pawpsicle pen- it was like Judy's carrot pen, but a pawpsicle instead- in his paw, waving it almost mockingly. He pressed on the 'play' button again.

 _'I'm a horrible bunny!'_

Nick's smile widened, showing off some of his sharp teeth like a predator who cornered his prey- which I guess you could call this. "You fell for it fluff, hook, line, and sinker." the smug fox said, his eyes closed as he continued to wave the device like it was a plastic toy. He felt Judy's grip on his chest disappear, making the fox believe that he won this. But because his eyes were closed, he didn't see the sign of hurt on Judy's face. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart." as he said the last word, Nick opened his eyes to see Judy on her knees, sniffling, an expression: eyes closed and full of an anger/sadness mixture; definitely not a façade. "...Sweetheart?"

Judy then yelled as she started hitting Nick with tiny fists, "Don't 'sweetheart' me, you dumb fox!" tears still spilled from her purple eyes "Those were my emotions, My _feelings,_ and you manipulated me and hurt me where it's most venerable!"

Nick felt her attack stop. He opened his eyes to see that she was driving the cruiser, still sniffling from a broken heart. Nick was about to speak, but he didn't want to pry her emotions. He just looked away in guilt. Ever since he realised he loved her, Nick _never_ wanted Judy, _his_ Judy, to cry. Now she was honest to god sad, and it was all his fault.

 _"What have I done?"_ the guilt ridden fox thought.

Then suddenly, Nick wasn't in the cruiser anymore, he was on the same cold floor of the Junior Ranger Scouts. A single light from above shone on him while the rest of the world hid in darkness. _**"You ruined your relationship with Judy, that's what, you idiotic scoundrel."** _ Nick was too used to that voice; the voice of that woodchuck bully. Ever since that damned day when he was muzzled, whenever he felt like he was doing something wrong, that very same woodchuck would be there to taunt him, to make him sink even more into his sea of darkness. The woodchuck that haunted his psyche.

A shadow of said woodchuck appeared, a wide smile that showed all of his teeth showed that he was enjoying this. "Your wrong!" Nick growled, the skin around his muzzle was pulled back; showing his sharp teeth "Carrots will forgive me, s-she always does".

But as hard as he tried, Nick couldn't stop the feeling on uncertainty slip into his words.

The woodchuck just chuckled. _**"You don't deserve happiness, you know that."**_

"We're here" Nick was back in the police cruiser, like he never left. Nick sighed, of course he imagined it, it _always_ was just nothing more but his imagination. Nick faced towards the sniffling bunny, she was staring at him. "You an I have a lot to talk about when this is over."

As the duo exited the cruiser, Nick got a better look at where they were: a mostly forest-like area with an ancient, abandoned warehouse in it. They were at The Edge of Zootopia. 'The Edge of Zootopia' was a name given to an isolated area of Zootopia, natural forest-like area that was untouched by modern technology. Multiple mammals, usually those not used to the city, would like to take a walk around The Edge of Zootopia so they could get away from it all, so they could feel more in nature.

Its popularity was kinda surprising since it was small compared to other areas of Zootopia, not to mention that it sat at the boundary of Zootopia (hence the 'edge' in the name).

"Huh" Nick spoke with a hint of amazement "I've known about this- ahem- 'place'" he used are quotes to describe the word 'place' "since I was a kit, but I was never interested beforehand." he began rubbing the back of his head with his paw, eyes closed, in embarrassment "Now I kinda regret that lack of interest."

When Nick opened his eyes, he saw Judy looking at him with a lack of any emotion. She turned and walked towards the warehouse.

 _"Alright, that's it."_ Nick thought _"It's time that I fixed my mistake."_ He grabbed Judy by the arm. As she turned to look at him, Nick grabbed her carrot pen and let go of her. Judy opened her mouth, about to yell at him most likely, but he carefully placed a pawpad over her mouth in a 'shush' manner.

He smiled and pressed the 'record' button on her carrot pen "I, Nicholas Wilde, am a dumb fox who makes stupid mistakes."

He removed the pawpad from Judy's mouth, a frown was on her face, but it looked like it was a fake one that she was trying- and failing- to keep.

"Nick, if you think that's gonna work then your wro-"

 _'I, Nicholas Wilde, am a dumb fox who makes stupid mistakes.'_ he played the recording, a little laugh escaped her lips, she tried to cover that.

"Nick, that's not-"

 _'I, Nicholas Wilde, am a dumb fox who makes stupid mistakes.'_

Nick waved the carrot pen in his paw, a smug-like grin on his face. "I can do this all day, Carrots." Judy broke her façade and laughed "I know you can't stay mad at me." He drew out his arms, both in the air and pointing outwards, basically saying 'hug?'.

Judy didn't resist and hugged him. It felt nice, for both of them. Like everything else was non-existent, just the two of them in their own little universe; together in an eternal embrace.

"Oh, one more thing!" Nick said. His bunny looked up at him with confused eyes; he already made it up to her, what else did he need to do? Nick pulled out his pawpsicle pen and pressed on the 'erase' button. Judy's eyes widened, he didn't have to do that. Nick pressed on the 'play' button; nothing happened. "There" he said "everything's fixed". However, Judy didn't look as happy as he expected.

"You didn't have to do that." she said "I already forgave you."

Nick smirked "It's called a hustle, sweetheart."

Judy punched Nick in the arm- making him say an 'Ow' in response-, her face was an amalgam of a smile and annoyance. "Just because it's your catchphrase doesn't mean you can use it for everything. And that's not what I call a 'hustle', that's what I call unfair.".

Nick looked at Judy, confused "'Unfair'?, how is that unfair?"

"I have a recording of you saying something bad about yourself, but you don't have a recording of me saying something bad about myself. So it's unfair, for you."

"What about when you said 'I really am just a dumb bunny'?"

"That recording is on _my_ pen. Besides, I erased it."

"Yeah, but I still managed to transfer it to my computer."

"..."

"Why are so quiet suddenly, Carrots?"

"How'd you transfer it onto your computer?!"

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart"

"If you keep saying that for everything I'm gonna kick you in the leg!"

"You know you love me."

"Do I know that? I'll tell you later."

Then they just stared at each other in the eyes, deeply. Judy couldn't stop looking deep into those two emerald pools that her partner had for eyes. Her heart warmed up like it drank warm coffee on a cold, snowy day. The want, the _need_ , to just kiss him then and there was almost irresistible. But she had a job to do- they _both_ had a job to do- to protect Zootopia.

"A-anyways, we should start investigating." Judy said as she broke the trance "S-something illegal could be happening in there". She then walked to the abandoned warehouse, _"I guess we have more to talk about tonight then just Amy"_ she thought.

Nick just watched her go. This secret really is getting out of paw. He sighed and followed after her.

"By the way," Judy said, turning around with her carrot pen in hand "you better not have used up too much storage on this. Because if we get any verbal evidence that something bad is related to this warehouse, and I can't capture that evidence because you made a dumb mistake, then your gonna be in big trouble." That almost sounded like a threat. Almost. The waving of her carrot pen, her half-closed eyelids and her smile- all of which she made no effort to hide- showed she was mostly joking.

Nick smirked "It's called a hu- OW!". Nick was hopping on his left foot while he held both paws on his right leg.

"I warned you."

"Ok, I'll stop saying it."

"I don't want you to stop saying it altogether, just not all of the time."

Nick put his right leg down, giving it a quick rub with one of his paws so the pain would go away. He saw that Judy was already entering the warehouse, signalling him to follow her. As Nick came closer he felt a dubious feeling, but he pushed that feeling away and entered. They can take whatever awaits them, right?

An important thing to remember: while you must never underestimate the duo, you must never _over_ estimate them either.

* * *

 **Author's note: I... haven't written in a long while (¬_¬;)**

 **But anyways, now that I wrote some of the 'happy' stuff I can go onto writing some angst *maniacal laughter***

 **That's if I get off my big, fat, lazy butt though (¬_¬;)**


	2. A Predator's Bloody Jaws

The old warehouse was, simply, just that: an old warehouse; rusted on every corner and every surface, a few lights that seemingly fell down from the ceiling, and the foreseeable reclamation by nature; case in point, multiple vines had crawled among the walls and stuck like leeches, there was even a window or two that had a tree trunk burst through it in the past.

However, despite all of this, everything seemed normal. Sure, it was the ruins of a building, used for who knows what purposes, that would inevitably cease entirely, but there was nothing uncanny. The uncanny part was a large square-shaped hole in the ground. A large square-shaped hole that had steps that led down to a door. Steps and a door that were metal. Metal that wasn't rusted and brittle, but shiny, new, and strong.

That was the uncanny part of the hole; the door and steps that resided in it were a juxtaposition to the decaying warehouse the surrounded them.

Judy and Nick stared at the hole, an unnerving feeling dwelled in them both. Neither knew why, but a feeling of something- just something- that could go bad was there. Judy didn't let her fear stop her, it was her job to make the world a better place and she kept by that philosophy. She walked towards the hole, ignoring any and all feelings of fear that coursed through her being.

The rabbit officer continued her movement until she was just a (rabbit) foot away from her desired destination, something was off. She only needed just one second to notice that Nick wasn't beside her like he usually was, he was unmoved from the entrance; his eyes lingered like a frozen manikin of a fox.

"Nick?" Judy asked, worried about her friend's daze. And, like he was awoken from a dream, Nick blinked suddenly before starring at Judy with confusion. The bunny sighed and walked up to the fox until they were face-to-face. "Is something bothering you?".

"Whaaat? Naw, everything's okay Carrots." Nick lied, trying to hide how he really felt. "I'm just admiring the view and..." the unamused look on Judy's face was more than enough proof to Nick that she wasn't believing it, that she saw right through him. She always managed to get to him. "Ok, here's the truth Carrots: I'm scared."

The statement shocked Judy; while Nick wasn't the bravest officer on the force, he was no coward. She was about to open her mouth to ask why he felt that way, but he already answered it. "Just look at it Carrots." he said, pointing to the hole "There's this big hole in the centre of an old abandoned warehouse, and guess what: the hole looks pretty freakin' brand new. And that's not all; there's been suspicious activity spotted at the warehouse, this warehouse. Doesn't that feel, oh I don't know, unsettling to you?!"

Nick's pronunciation of those last words were a little... harsh. He let his anger slip, and it got directed towards Judy, even though she didn't deserve it. Judy was completely silent, her eyes falling to the ground that she and Nick stood on. As the bunny- the bunny that he wished to call his- stared at the ground in utter silence, Nick began to realize his actions. What has he done? "L-listen, Judy, I'm so-"

Nick stopped his sentence when Judy grabbed his paws with her much smaller ones, her gaze stayed towards the ground. "Does this feel unsettling? Yes, yes it does. Should I be scared? Yes, yes I should. But do I feel scared? No, no I don't." She then turned her face up to Nick, her eyes were amethyst diamonds that showed only warm-heartedness and friendship. "Because I know that as long as you're by my side, I have nothing to fear."

A warmth from Nick's chest spread around his entire being, she trusted him with her life, she believed that he could protect her. The fox no longer felt any of those troublesome emotions from earlier, only ecstasy towards the one who saved him from his personal hell. And desire; desire to kiss her, touch her, mark her as his, and his alone. "Carrots..." he said, his voice was as warm as the feeling in his chest.

And that made Judy smile even more.

"And I know you that you feel the same way, that as long as I'm by your side, you have nothing to fear." Judy continued, comforting her friend even more. Subconsciously, she closed the distance between them and rested her head on his chest. And subconsciously, Nick wrapped his tail around her small body and rested his head on hers. Neither realised that they wrapped their arms around each other in a hugging embrace. "You do feel the same, right?" Judy asked, there was a hint of worry in her voice, and her grip on Nick tightened.

"Of course I do, Carrots." Nick replied, his voice was soft and his eyes were half-lidded; not in their usual smug snark, but in deep admiration towards the bunny. "You put me in a state of serenity.

Judy's grip began to loosen, but her embrace still stood. For a few seconds, the doe herself was in serenity. The hug, a soft moment of contact where warmth was shared, was almost exhilarating.

 _"I love you Judy, you mean far more to me than anything else in the world. You're my everything and more. You've given meaning to my life."_ Nick thought, his hold on Judy became slightly stronger _"Please, don't leave me. I don't want to loose you again."_

They both, reluctantly, stopped their embrace. Still, they starred at each other in the eyes with friendship (or is it passion?), never wanting to break contact. However, Nick's eyes began to direct towards Judy's left cheek, where he could faintly see a line or three hidden underneath her grey fur. And the lines didn't look like they were drawn onto her cheek, but more like they were cut into-

Judy then pulled Nick towards the hole, her face was no longer in view. "C'mon, Slick, there's a world for us to make a better place." she said happily, still not facing Nick.

Nick decided to ignore what he saw, whenever it was real or not; it was best to focus on the case before he asked Judy anything that was personally related to her. _"But still..."_ That was a thought that wouldn't leave his head. He walked in-front of Judy, going down the hole and opening the door, unbeknownst to the fact that Judy was standing at the top of the steps. Her fingers her tracing over her left cheek, tracing over her scars.

 _"I'm sorry, Nick."_ she thought, her eyes looking at the ground (and the first and second steps in the hole) in guilt. _"I know that I hurt you, I know that I never should've taken that fox repellent. And all because of these; a sign that I will never truly be brave; that I will never truly be strong."_

Judy got back to her senses and joined Nick before he noticed her absence. Behind the metal door was a lit hallway, a lit hallway of twisting paths that is. Both officers looked at the hallway in a mixture of surprise and incredulousness; whoever made this hallway was an architect that wanted to make a maze.

Nick was silent, hoping that Judy could find the solution. Nick wasn't as optimistic as Judy, in fact he was a bit of the opposite. While not one completely, the fox tended to be pessimistic at times. He can thank society's view on his species for that. So whenever there was situation that felt hopeless, at least to Nick, he would always look towards Judy for hope.

Her optimism was almost unreal, and it was, indeed, one Nick's favourite aspects about her (which is saying a lot). Oh how it made him smile whenever she found a solution to a problem, completely turning something fruitless into a fool-proof plan. His bunny was definitely a phenomenon.

His bunny...

Laughable, he hasn't even told her his true feelings and, as far as he could be sure, she might just want to remain as friends. Yet still, for a long time he considered her as his. Well, she was, in Nick's eyes, perfect, after all. Oh how she permeates him with euphoria with her courage, her determination, her optimism, her friendliness, her-

Nick shook his head from side to side, taking him out of his Judy-based reverie. If you were to ask Nick what the closest thing there was to being an annoyance about being in love with Judy, it was that he'd constantly be distracted by daydreams about the little bunny.

"Hmm" Judy hummed next to Nick, her finger tapping on her lips as she though carefully. "Maybe if there was a sound source, I could-" Judy was cut off as a loud noise echoed through the hallway. The fox and bunny instantly went onto the same thought: follow that noise. The duo ran to the origin, ignoring their feelings of uncertainty.

* * *

As they got closer to the sound's source, Nick and Judy began to make out what the voices were saying.

"...could leave our operation jeopardised!" an annoyed voice yelled.

"Oh calm down, Clause." another voice said, it also sounded annoyed, but less so "Barely anyone seems to notice me."

An annoyed grunt was heard. "You may be right about that, Derik," the other voice, presumably called Clause, spoke "but I have been waiting my entire life to start our liberation! So, you waltzing around and taking others in _broad daylight_ could raise suspicion. And do you know what suspicion causes? We'll get arrested, which will stop us from beginning our liberation. So if you think I'm angry for no reason than guess what: I damn well do have a reason!"

The path that the fox and bunny went through had a corner that went left. The voices were coming from the other end of the corner. Judy was about to turn that corner, but stopped when Nick put a paw on her shoulder. Judy turned her head to face Nick, his other paw was on his lips in a way that said 'be quiet'. Judy kept her mouth shut; the look on Nick's face showed a sort of worry. It's never a good sign when Nick looks worried.

Nick poked his head around the corner. He saw two different mammals, defiantly predator, facing towards a table. The table was in the middle of the wall at the end of the room. It looked like the table contained a bunch of papers. By peering around the medium to large room, Nick was able to faintly see a wall of cardboard boxes that were behind and to the right of the two preds.

 _"If I'm quick enough, I can get both myself and Carrots behind the boxes so we can record any evidence."_

He wasn't completely wrong; if Nick and Judy crouched, they could stay unnoticed behind the cardboard boxes.

 ** _"It won't work."_** the voice of the woodchuck said in Nick's head, almost sounding like he was mocking Nick **_"Doing so will get you and 'Carrots' killed."_**

Nick ignored the voice in his head and did his plan of action anyways. He put a paw over Judy's mouth, and another on her belly- causing both of their hearts to beat rapidly- and quickly rushed behind the boxes.

"Hmm?" one of the voices hummed as soon as Nick got both himself and Judy behind the wall of cardboard boxes.

"What is it, Derik?"

"Thought I heard something"

"It's just probably your imagination."

"I doubt it Clause."

A scoff was heard "Whatever."

Judy noticed that there were spaces between the boxes; they were big enough for Judy to look through, but small enough for her to remain unseen. Looking through the spaces, Judy got a view of the two suspects. The first was a snow leopard, about somewhere between his late twenties and early thirties, wearing a white shirt and some brown slacks. He looked normal, with the exception of one disturbing and, somewhat, peculiar feature: there was dried blood around his muzzle. And it didn't look like it was his own blood.

Judy looked down to her left side; her left arm and paw was slowly and shakily reaching for her cheek, for her scars. She stopped her left arm. This was her secret guilt; ever since Gideon clawed her, scarred her, those many years ago, whenever a predator would flash its teeth or claws in anger, not matter the context, a impulse to reach those old, but always permanent, scars would come over Judy. The memory would always resurface. The impulse was always there. Even today, after befriending and helping many predators, after Gideon apologised wholeheartedly, they still happened. What's worse is that she would sometimes even get night terrors of that very moment. It made her feel horrible. She was a hypocrite. She was ashamed that even a part of her was this; a despicable scumbag. It didn't matter if you agreed or not, a part of her viewed herself as that.

 _"Your not like that Judy."_ she tried to assure herself that it's ok _"You_ don't _hate predators, you don't fear predators. Predators are your friends."_

The snow leopard, Derik, opened his mouth, revealing sharp, blood-covered, teeth. "So how is the preaching going?."

Judy had to carefully move to get a view of Clause.

She wished she never did.

Clause was a wolf, approximately two years older than Judy. His fur was black, and his eyes were blue. He wore distressed dark blue jeans and a dark, long-sleeved, black shirt. His jeans and shirt were covered in splotches of blood; their sizes varied from small droplets to the size of a small new-born. The age of the splotches also varied; some looked they were weeks old, maybe even months, while others looked... **fresh** ; they were recent. But, what was most terrifying of all was that just by looking at his eyes and smile, Judy knew that this wolf was a sadist.

Judy's body became rigid; she was paralysed by fear. A paw was put on Judy's left shoulder, she looked to see that it was Nick; he looked at her with eyes that shown an understanding of her fear. To an extent, of course. Much like how Judy wasn't muzzled at the age nine, Nick wasn't given three eternal scars at the age of nine.

However, it didn't matter, she still felt comfort from him. Her best friend; but she wishes they were more.

"Well..." she heard the voice of Clause say, making her bring her carrot pen out and hitting the 'record' button "It hasn't been the best: sure the grizzly bear _is_ starting to think about the undeniable pecking order that we predators have over prey. But on the other paw, the hyena and the raccoon are still denying the truth. They still believe that 'prey and predator can live in harmony' bullshit." Clause then scoffed "Meek prey, believing that they can live on the same hierarchy as us: predators: their natural superiors. But it has always been a prime principle that the lives and deaths of prey are at the mercy of predators, and the mercy of predators alone."

Judy felt fear flow in her bloodstream. It was more than likely that those blood splotches belonged to prey mammals. Not to mention that, from what she heard, he apparently believes that predators are above prey. Judy and Nick's eyes contacted and, like they were both mind readers, they knew what the other was thinking: they need to get the evidence to Bogo as quickly and quietly as possible.

* * *

Nick couldn't believe what that wolf had just said. _"'The lives and deaths of prey are at the mercy of predators, and the mercy of predators alone.'? Really?!"_ he thought _"What kind of messed up philosophy is that?!"_. Nick could practically feel a growl grow in his throat. Sure, for more than half of his life he lived with a view that you could only be what you are born as, so he thought that there were some mammals that would always be superior to others. But that was only bigger mammals over smaller mammals, not predator over prey.

Either way, his view was changed by Judy, his beloved Carrots. She would teach him a thing or two about his philosophy. After all, she is an anomaly; she did get Nick to fall in love with her, even though he's a predator and she's a...

Nick's eyes widened. Judy's a bunny: a prey. This Clause guy is a wolf: a predator. Everything about that black wolf, from his expression to his blood splotches to his view on prey, showed that he wouldn't give any prey, including Judy, mercy; only malevolence.

But, what confirmed his suspicion was the smell. Nick could smell prey mammals. From inside their throats. Nick could smell multiple prey mammals, including bunnies, from the insides of Derik's and Clause's throats; they have eaten prey mammals.

If he saw Judy he will kill her! The thought filled Nick with fear. He doesn't want to lose Judy, not now or ever. But fear wasn't the only emotion that overwhelmed Nick. He also felt rage. If this Clause person kills Judy, Nick will tear him limb from limb. He needed to get Judy away from Clause as quickly and quietly as possible, before Clause even has the chance to act out such a horrible thought.

He and Judy looked at each other in the eyes, and knew that they shared the same thought: give the evidence to Bogo as quickly and quietly as possible. Neither of the two predators were looking at the duo's current area of destination (not that they were aware of the two cops anyways); getting away should be- anticlimactically- easy.

But Fate's evil, so too bad.

Nick felt an itch in his nose. He's gonna sneeze. Nick's wide eyes and twitching nose were more than enough evidence to Judy that he's gonna-

Achoo!

Nick turned his head to the side to not sneeze on Judy. Sadly though, that side was the same side that the boxes were on. And, of course, Nick's sneeze caused both Derik and Clause to look at the source of the noise to find a bunny cop and a fox cop.

"Hmm..." Clause hummed as he observed the sight before him, his eyes zoomed in on Nick first "It appears that a predator, one of our kind, is has came to join us.". His gaze then transferred to Judy. His eyes turned into vertical slits, with the frown on his muzzle becoming a huge, disturbing, wide grin that showed very, very sharp teeth "And he brought lunch~"

"Don't you dare try to eat her!" Nick growled at the wolf in front of him, his teeth was bared, and his eyes had became vertical slits. However, unlike Clause's slits, which were filled with a macabre-related desire, Nick's slits showed protectiveness.

"Oh... I see..." Clause said, looking rather disappointed "Your another predator who's been lied to..."

Lied to? What does he mean by lied to?!

"But that doesn't matter," Clause said, having an innocent-looking smile "you'll learn about the truth of prey and predator soon enough.". From the corners of their eyes, Nick and Judy noticed that Derik had moved near to the only escape entrance, hindering their escape chances. Clause's expression turned from innocent to sadistic "And you'll understand why it is perfectly in your right, as a predator, to step over all prey mammals."

"Excuse me, _what?!_ " Nick said, practically spitting out venom when he said 'what?!'.

Clause's expression turned blank for a few seconds "What I mean is-"

"I know what you mean." Nick interrupted "And honestly, I think it's despicable that you think that way; believing that you're superior to prey because your a predator. Oh, and one last thing: I _can_ smell them, I can smell that neither of you two are even trying to hide the fact that you have been eating- honest to god, _eating_ \- prey mammals!"

Judy's eyes went wide. She had a suspicion, but tried to push it down. But now it was undeniable: those two were murderers.

"Yeah, we have killed and eaten prey mammals." Derik said, looking completely unaffected by Nick's words "So?"

He didn't care. Neither the wolf or snow leopard cared that they were eating other members of society. They had no care what-so-ever about the lives of prey mammals.

"You monsters!" Judy yelled, tears of anger escaped from her eyes "You're under arrest!"

Clause and Derik looked at each other, unamused. "I'll knock out the fox, you can eat the bunny." Derik said to Clause.

Clause went back to his insane grin, licking his lips at the thought "Certainly~!"

Judy had enough of that wolf. And, like a blur, had kicked him in the face. Her kick had sent both Clause and herself flying across the room, with Judy landing on her feet while Clause landed on his face.

Seeing how Derik was flabbergasted by Judy's action, Nick tackled the snow leopard by the stomach. While the tackle was a little difficult, thanks to Derik's six-pack of abs, it was still successful, nevertheless. Derik fell to his backside, but sat up almost instantly. However, as soon as the snow leopard sat up, he was tackled by Nick once again, the force aiming for his head completely.

"Oh, shi-" was all Derik could say before Nick tackled him by the head, being seemingly knocked unconscious by the attack. Nick then moved himself to the side of the supposedly unconscious snow leopard, a feeling of pride from his 'victory'. It was easy... too easy.

"Well, I think we won." Judy said, a beaming smile on her face has her hands were placed on her hips. But her face then turned terrified; eyes wide, nose twitching, mouth open in a gap. Her arm then slowly went up and pointed at Nick, shaking. "N-N-Nick..."

Before Nick could even question Judy's change in behaviour, he felt a presence looming over him with a growl. He looked back to see Derik on his feet, like nothing happened to him at all. Derik then tried to pounce on Nick. Fortunately, Nick's reflexes and reaction speed were fast enough for him to dodge. Nick jumped a few feet away before Derik could do any other attacks.

Judy was shocked at what she had seen. The snow leopard basically brushed off Nick's attack with ease. She then felt terror as a paw grabbed her by the leg. She looked down to see Clause holding her leg, predatory eye slits and a wicked grin on his face.

"Nice try, Little Rabbit~!" Clause said, his tone was creepily playful. The next thing that Judy knew was that Clause quickly got back onto his feet (with Judy's leg still in his paw) and threw Judy across the room, her back hit the wall- hard. "But wolves are stronger than bunnies." he said, his voice sounding a little mocking.

"JUDY!" Nick screamed as he rushed over to Judy.

"I-I'm fine." Judy lied as she got back onto her feet. She started to rub her upper-back area, a throbbing pain was lingering there. That was always a problem for her, even though she was one of its best officers, Judy had the lowest defence out of everyone in the ZPD.

She was one of the best officers because her quick brain was useful in horrible situations, her small size and speed made her hard to hit, and her feet were effective at taking down criminals (though the opposite could be said about her paws). But, her durability was a weakness. If you could land a hit on her, you'll find that Judy is less durable than her co-workers.

And there was only one thing that she could blame: physiology. I.e a bunny's bones have extremely thin cortices, so they are easily shattered. Because of this, Judy relied on her speed and reflexes to help herself while on duty. Sure, she can take down enormous criminals, but everyone in the ZPD has done that at least once.

 _"Those brittle bones of hers will break in three hits."_ Clause thought to himself, a wide smile of malice made its way on his face _"But I want to have some fun with my food before I eat it. I_ always _play with my food."_

Clause and Derik looked at each other, their eyes shifting like they were communicating via their aforementioned eyes.

Suddenly, Derik lunged at the fox and bunny. Nick didn't think, only act. He pushed Judy out of the way, hoping to save her from the impact. Derik's fist made strong contact with Nick's face, the force was so great that it even sent Nick a few feet backwards. Clause then came running to Judy, claws unsheathed, hoping to cut through some of her skin and flesh.

However, Judy dodged and kicked Clause in the stomach. Clause only groaned slightly before acting like nothing happened.

 _"Idiot bunny."_ Derik thought as he watched _"Meek prey are powerless against their predator superiors."_

"Hey!" Nick yelled from behind the snow leopard, his baton in paw. "If you think that's enough to knock me unconscious, you clearly underestimate me." Derik just rolled his eyes and aimed a punch at Nick. Nick dodged and hit him in the head with his baton. "Nice try," Nick said, giving Derik the 'No No' finger "but I'm too slick for you."

Derik just growled before trying to pounce Nick like a primal predator.

"Whoa!" Nick said as he dodged the attack, albeit just barely "That's unexpected."

Derik smiled in response to the fox's statement; his mouth was wide open, showing off his teeth covered in dried blood. "It's how I was made. I just merely do what I was created for." Derik said, his savage-like smile became slightly prideful. "Although..." his smile turned into a frown, and he looked... disappointed? "it is forgotten and prohibited, much like our purpose for existing." He stood up on his two feet, he... actually looked rather sad in his eyes, sad and misunderstood "You have been told lies since you were a kit, lies created by prey. That is the job that I, Clause, and many other predators are set out to do: liberation. We seek to find a way to put the world back into it's primary way; predators rule over prey, prey lives to be nothing more than our meals."

Nick looked at the snow leopard in a combination of horror and disgust. Those words were unbelievable; they saw not only themselves, but all predators, as tyrants who should rule over all prey mammals like their lives don't matter. What kind of world- or, in Nick's mind, hell- did this... _thing_ come from?

Derik then extended his paw towards Nick. Not in a way to attack Nick, but like he was asking Nick to take his hand. "Take my paw, Nick, and I, Clause, and many other predators will show you how the world is meant to be, how _you_ were meant to be."

Derik kept his paw out, expecting Nick to accept and embrace the 'truth' about the world, the 'truth' that is his belief. But, to Derik's surprise, Nick hitted Derik on the head with his baton.

"No." Nick growled "I will _never_ accept your philosophy, you and Clause can rot in prison if you believe that the meaning of others is to be your meal!"

Nick's ears became erect when he heard a whimper from his side, a whimper from a bunny that he cares about deeply. He looked to the source of the noise to see a sight that filled his blood with fear and anger. Clause had Judy pinned down, his paws over her own and his knees over her feet. And his sharp, dagger-like teeth was only inches away from her neck.

"Judy!" he yelled, his paw reaching out to her, and his voice filled with the same fear and anger. This caused both Judy and Clause to look at the fox, Clause's grip on Judy loosened as he turned his attention onto Nick.

Derik took the opportunity to take Nick's baton from his paw and hit him on the head. Hard. The world became a little dizzy for the fox, but he could still remain conscious. Then Derik slammed his fists on Nick's head, knocking him into the dark unconsciousness. He at least saw Judy escape Clause's grip and run to him.

"Hah! Weak fox." he heard Derik say.

* * *

Judy had a brief moment of victory after hitting that wolf in the stomach. But, shortly after being hit in the stomach, Clause pinned her down. He did this by holding her paws down with his own, and using his knees to hold down Judy's feet. His snout came close to Judy's face. Really close.

"You really think you can be a match for me, Little Rabbit?" Clause said mockingly, feeling like the superior being that he believes himself to be "You bunnies are nothing more than weak carrot farmers, prey mammals who live at the expense of predators." His eyes turned into slits, and his grin turned sadistic once again. That grin had secretly induced fear into Judy " _All_ prey mammals, no matter how big and strong they are, live at the mercy of predators: the natural overlords of prey."

Judy felt more angry than scared at the black wolf. For now. "I am _not_ a carrot farmer, I'm a cop. Also, I can take down rhinos, I am not weak."

Clause just scoffed, unaffected by Judy's struggling against him. "Yeah, you can take down other _prey_ mammals, with _their_ own fists. You are never truly a strong mammal unless you have sharp teeth and claws to kill your prey."

Clause then put his snout even closer to Judy, just about grazing her nose, her twitching nose. Judy could faintly smell the blood of prey mammals in Clause's throat; from mice to elephants.

Clause's snout began to move to Judy's neck. He opened his mouth, revealing sharp, dagger-like teeth, and began to place it around the bunny's neck. Judy could no longer hide her fear, her nose twitched without control and she even whimpered.

Despite his mercilessness towards prey, Clause's teeth didn't sink into Judy's neck. The look in his eyes explained why: he was aware of her fear, and he wanted _more_. He could see her fear, smell it, _taste_ it. She really was at his mercy; the only reason why he didn't kill her was because he liked seeing her being so scared of him.

"Judy!" yelled a voice full of fear and anger, a voice that was Nick's. This caused both Judy and Clause to look towards Nick, and, in the moment of surprise and redirected attention, Clause's grip on Judy had loosened, making it possible for the bunny to escape.

Derik took his opportunity to attack. He yanked Nick's baton out of his paw and hit the fox on the head with great force. Nick wobbled as he held his head with his paw, no doubt that he was nearly knocked unconscious by the attack. But, whenever Nick would stay conscious or not didn't matter; Derik slammed his fists on Nick's head, making him go unconscious.

Judy's eyes widened, he was knocked unconscious. She then noticed that Clause was no longer pressing his paws on her own, nor was he pressing his knees onto her feet. Judy moved her feet out from under Clause's knees and kicked the wolf in the stomach, pushing him back. Judy then ran as fast as she could to Nick.

"Hah! Weak fox." Derik said triumphantly.

Luckily, Derik didn't even try to stop Judy. In fact, he actually walked out of the way, like he was letting Judy get to Nick.

"Nick?" Judy asked, trying to see if he was ok. He was breathing, so he was alive, but he was unconscious. "Nick?!" Judy repeated. This time she was shaking her fox friend to get him to wake up, but the effort was fruitless; he was, and will be, unconscious for who knows how long.

She looked back at the two predators- no, monsters- who were the cause of this; Clause was getting back onto his feet, sinister smile and eyes were still worn on him, while Derik stood next to the wolf, arms folded with a look of personal victory on him as he looked at the bunny and her unconscious bunny.

"Do not worry about your friend, Little Rabbit," Clause said as he got back on both feet "we won't kill him, we'll just take him away so we can preach and liberate him about how predators like him should be ruling over and eating prey like you." His grin grew wider "Understood, Little Rabbit~?"

Judy growled angrily. "First of all, my name is Judy Hopps, not 'Little Rabbit', which is a rather derogatory nickname." Clause just rolled his eyes, unamused. Clearly Judy wasn't the first bunny to tell him stuff like that. "And second of all, if you think that I'm going to desert my partner, you thought wrong!"

Judy stood sturdily as she could. She wasn't going to abandon him; not now, not ever. She already lost him once at that first press conference about the night howlers, and she damn well wasn't going to let it happen again.

Clause scoffed "Your really dumb, Little Rabbit. You see us, right? Two predators that are far above you in the food chain, do you really think that you stand a chance against us?" Clause closed his eyes, still smiling, and shook his head from side to side; he saw this as some sort of bad joke. "Not that we'll let you live anyways, so I'll tell you this:" Clause put on an innocent-looking face "give up now, and I'll let your death be quick and painless."

"What?!" Judy yelled in a mixture fear and confusion at Clause's absurd statement.

Clause gave a light chuckle, his expression of obviously fake innocence was still apparent "Give up now, and I'll give you a quick, painless death before I eat you." Clause's face then became evil once again "Or try to put up a meaningless resistance that will end with you having a slow, painful death before being devoured by your truly." he pointed to himself when he said those last two words.

Judy felt cornered, she knew she couldn't beat these two on her own, but she couldn't abandon Nick either. She had only one option.

Judy pulled out her radio from her belt "This is officer Hopps requesting backup. Officer Wilde is down!"

Judy shrieked as she saw Derik rush towards her, a fist in the air; ready to slam her into the ground. Judy jumped back, avoiding the attack. But, she dropped her radio when she jump backwards, leaving it where she was. Derik's fist slammed onto the ground. The ground where Judy's radio was. Correction: where Judy's _broken_ radio was.

Of course it would break, seeing how it was made to both fit in Judy's paw _and_ function properly, it wasn't completely surprising that it would break after being slammed on by a snow leopard's paws against a metal floor.

"Unsurprising..." Derik said, his voice monotone, as he looked at his paw, and then at the remains of Judy's radio " _All_ things prey are weak and pathetic. Prey mammals in general are weak and pathetic, that's why they all are food and nothing more."

Derik then walked to the only doorway that the room offered. He then leaned on it, an obvious attempt at hindering any chance of escape for Judy. Not that the bunny would even think of trying anyways, she would _never_ leave Nick, not like this, even if her life was at risk.

Clause was barely even attempting to control or hide his laughter, he didn't take the officer seriously in even the slightest sense. "Seriously, Little Rabbit, you think that you can hold off either me or Derik, nevertheless _both_ of us?". He began to laugh more like a hyena than a wolf, but honestly at this point Judy was starting to believe that he was neither; he was, give or take, a demon. "How foolhardy~!" the wolf said with a wide smile of sharp teeth.

This wolf. He was an epitome of Judy's fear. Judy's fear that made her absolutely unforgivable to anyone and everyone, even to the most tender of hearts. Or, at least, that was her perspective.

And then there's the fact that he was sending her impulse levels to absolutely insane. Normally the impulse to reach for those scars was in a regular volume; not quite loud, not quite quiet. This time it was screaming in a loudness that would make Bucky and Pronk's arguments sound like silent whispers.

A growl snapped Judy out her mini personal war. It was then that Judy noticed Clause was in front of her, his right paw was aiming to strike her left leg. Judy attempted to dodge, but the distance between paw and leg was too small. Even if she could reduce the damage, it would still inflict her anyways.

Sharp claws slashed through skin and mild flesh like scissors through paper.

However, even in the moment of pain, Judy took the opportunity to kick Clause in the stomach with her right leg, her good leg. Clause actually clutched his stomach while groaning in pain. Seeing how another opportunity was open, Judy gave him an uppercut under the jaw with one of her paws. Sure, it wasn't much, but at least it was something.

Judy then increased the distance between herself and Clause, but still tried to keep close towards Nick. She hissed in pain while holding her leg. Warm blood flowed between her fingers, escaping from her leg via the three claw marks along her leg.

 _"Damn it."_ Judy mentally cursed. The cuts were deep, so they would need stitches, and they would leave scars.

"Do you give up now, Little Rabbit?" Clause questioned, his face was so smug that it could match Nick's.

Nick!

Judy rushed to the unconscious fox, ignoring the stinging sensation that coursed though her leg. She stood in front of her friend, her friend that she secretly loved, her arms were open and outstretched protectively. If they dared to take her fox to god knows where, they'll have to kill her first (though, judging by their characteristics, they'd do it regardless of the circumstances).

"Wow, Little Rabbit, you're very brave and very stupid." Clause said before releasing a dark chuckle, resting head on paw. His eyes were trying to pierce into Judy's soul. Or, at least, that's what Judy presumed he was doing. "Especially with those little scars on your check."

"We saw them the second we saw you." Derik said, almost nonchalant. "And we know, by their appearance, that you've had them for a long time." The snow leopard appeared to take some pride in how quickly he and his compadre noticed her secret.

Judy's heart stopped beating, or at least that's what it felt like. For a second or two, Judy was no longer in the underground room beneath a relic of a factory. She was no longer protecting a fox who had, through unforeseen events, became her best friend. She was no longer in front of two predators who had disturbing, and possibly derogatory, view on prey.

No, she was in her nine year old body again. She was in Bunnyburrow, her face being pushed into the dirt by Gideon as her friends watched helplessly. The scariest moment of her life replayed flawlessly; a pristine replay.

Even though it was years ago, even though it all happened in only one second (probably even less than that), she could never forget the moment those claws cut through her cheek; the birth of her scars.

 _'I want you to remember this moment the next time you think you will ever be anything more than just a stupid, carrot-farming, dumb bunny!'_

And remember it, she did. Because even the most heartfelt of apologies, even the passing of time, cannot change what is immutable; that is by definition. The past can decide the outcomes of the present and the future, but what has happened is permanent. Consequence is a devil.

Those scars were eternal. You can repress them, weaken them, conceal them, but erasing them is an impossibility.

"Aww, is the wittle bwunny afwaid of the big bwad wolf with the weally big pwaws and cwaws that can shwed her to pwieces" Clause baby-talked, his smile widening as fear became more evident on Judy's face, even if the fear was because of something else. "I can tell that you've had those scars for a long time, probably since you were a kit. I will admit again: you're pretty damn valiant."

Admittedly, Judy didn't care if Clause was honest or not, his capricious words created a moment of solace. However, it was only instantaneous.

"But you're also really fucking dumb." Clause said, looking a little angry at how Judy refused to give up. "I mean look at your leg! Even if you manage to take down one of us, nevertheless both of us, the chances of you bleeding to your demise becomes more and more inevitable."

Judy still stood strong, pretending that she didn't feel a stinging pain in her leg. She didn't need to take them down, she just needed to occupy them until backup arrives. Either way it didn't matter how this assignment concluded, the chances of Judy forgetting it was highly unlikely. Her new scars on her leg permitted it.

"It's gonna take more than that to defeat me." Judy said, standing her ground.

"Oh really~?" Clause said before making a dark chuckle. "'Cause, ya know, the last time I checked, you were unable to fight the last time something tore into the flesh and muscles of your leg." The wolf then closed his eyes and began sniffing, and whatever it was that he could smell had made his grin turn wider. "Your blood." he said to Judy "It smells... _delicious~!_ "

Eyes widening, Judy looked down to see her feet were in a small puddle of her own blood. That's when the symptoms arrived. Judy's balance was becoming uneven, like the plant was having trouble with staying on it's axis. Her vision was becoming unfocused, and sounds were distorting. Before Judy knew it, Clause was in-front of her and pushed her onto her back, holding her down with a large paw on her stomach.

"If you smell this tasty, then I wonder how good you actually _taste_ _._ " Clause said, the black wolf held hungry slits on Judy. "Although, I should give you taste test first. It's always a displeasure when your food turns out to be revolting in flavour." Slit eyes moved upwards to Judy's big bunny ears. "I'll start with an ear for an appetizer~!"

And with that said, Clause bit down onto the right side of Judy's right ear at the middle section with his front teeth. They cut through the flesh with ease. Pain seared from Judy's ear, almost feeling like it was spreading around body. Something welled up from inside Judy and escaped from her mouth.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!_ " The scream was bloodcurdling. Clause and Derik held onto their ears as Judy's scream hurt their ears. Tears escaped Judy's eyes, and crimson escaped her ears. She felt hopeless, even more than after that damn press conference, she was pinned down by someone who was bigger and heavier than her, not to mention that her blood loss was making her strength and consciousness seep away. She was at his mercy; that of which he possessed none of.

"That hurt _my_ ears!" Clause growled angrily at Judy. "Looks like I'll need to punish you~" he said as his frown turned into a wide grin, revealing that his front teeth are now tinged with Judy's blood. "And frankly, I'm never gentle when it comes to punishing others, especially delicious prey."

The malicious wolf then went for Judy's right shoulder, his teeth had quickly and easily pierced past the skin and flesh, before crunching into the bone.

Judy didn't scream this time, she didn't energy for it. And even if she did have the energy, she was starting to doubt that her body would hear her commands. She wanted to fight against Clause, to stop both him and Derik, to save her friend. She wanted to try. But her body wanted to lay down, to rest, to sleep for a few minutes. Or maybe a few hours. Or an eternity, that doesn't really sound back either.

She was putting a big fight against her body, but she couldn't win; she already lost.

"What? Done already?" Clause asked with a cocked eyebrow, but Judy could barely see or understand him as her consciousness was almost naught. "Well then, if you're gonna stop being fun then I guess it's time I ate you~" Clause plunged one of his claws into Judy's stomach, not deep enough to cause any permanent damage (at least to the organs), but deep enough for the doe to loose what blood she had left.

Everything became blurry and dizzy to Judy. A darkness grew from the borders of Judy's eyes, its growth was slow, but still existent. A black, wolf-shaped blur that stood in-front of her drew near. There was a faint, inaudible noise that came from Judy's right side. The black blur looked towards the source of the noise, only to seemingly be attacked by an orange blur.

The black blur ran away in pain, subsequently, the orange blur came close to her, revealing it to be shaped like a fox. The fox that she wished to call her fox. He was speaking to her, and while she couldn't understand a single word as anything more than a incomprehensible mumble, she could still understand that they were frantic and worried.

Judy gathered everything from the shattered remains of her energy. "Nick..." her whisper was so unbelievably quiet that only she could understand it, albeit barely, but it was the best she could do at this state. "I'm sorry..."

And with that, she closed her eyes. A new sensation of floating overcame Judy. She opened her eyes to find herself in a vast, infinite void of nothingness. It had no edge, no boundaries, absolutely empty. All that there was in this unreal, eternal location was Judy, and Judy alone. It felt... peaceful. The emptiness of the void was terrifying, yet relaxing. She let the void drift her away; the void of unconscious tranquillity; the void between life and death.

* * *

The last thing that Nick could remember was being hit on the head, hard. He couldn't remember what exactly it was that hit him on the head, just that it made his brain feel like it was turned into a smoothie. He didn't know where he was. Or who he was, for that matter.

All that he really could remember was that there was something that was important to him, or rather that there was someone who was important to him. He thinks that he remembers it as a she, a she that has a name.

But what was it?

Suddenly, a loud scream was heard. Nick covered his ears, but to no avail; the scream didn't mute at all. Although there was something familiar about the scream, more so, there was something familiar about the voice. It sounded like Judy...

Judy!

The memories came back, the memories of that malevolent wolf and his accomplice. Judy's in danger! He... he has to save her!

The fox's eyelids attracted together like magnets, the feeling of the cold metal returned to Nick's senses. He opened his eyes, and what he saw made both his blood boil and his heart stop. In-front of him was a sight of Clause with one claw plunged into Judy's stomach, blood escaped through the doe's mouth and the newly-made hole in her belly.

Through instinct, impulse, or both, Nick's body ran to the scene before him, moving at its own accord. "No!" Nick screamed, his voice was an amalgam of his sadness, his fear, and his overflowing rage. Clause looked towards him, surprise formatted on his face at the tod's sudden recovery. Driven by his, partially protective, rage, Nick swung a claw at the black wolf, his claws ripping through the skin of the aforementioned wolf's muzzle.

Clause ran away, holding onto the bleeding claw marks on his muzzle, screaming pain. Nick faced back to Judy, and his emotions intensified. Her left leg, her right shoulder, and her ear were, like her belly, cut and bleeding. A 'No' escaped Nick's mouth, followed very shortly by a 'Nononononononononono'.

Nick repositioned himself to make it that he was facing Clause and Derik, there was no way in hell that he would let them sneak on him and Judy.

Nick placed a paw on her stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding, while the other wounds and her mouth were also bleeding, they were bleeding rather slowly and in small litres; her stomach, on the other paw, was the opposite.

Her skin was cold and clammy, but Nick kept his paw on her wound nevertheless, hoping to make even an iota of a difference. "Stay with me, Carrots." he said, his voice sounded broken and frantic. "I-I need you in my life. Please, I can't live without you Judy."

Judy looked as though she was in a daze, or as though she couldn't hear or understand a single word of his. Her mouth moved, making an unbelievably quiet and somewhat raspy noise that was almost inaudible. And then, her eyes closed and she became unresponsive. Nick felt his darkness, the very same one that accompanied for over a decade, return.

"You..." Nick growled darkly, turning his head up from Judy to Clause and his compadre, anger-filled slits and bared teeth faced towards the two, sending a small, yet existent, wave of fear through them. "You bastards!" a growl of a blinding, overflowing rage coursed through and out of his throat. "I'll never forgive you. I'LL END YOU!"

Even with fear mildly flowing through him, Clause still stood tall and growled back.

And then two paws from behind the wolf pushed him face-first onto the metal floor, followed by a newfound weight pushing down on his back. Before he could even comprehend what happened, Clause's arms were pulled behind his back and cuffed.

Officer Wolford pulled Clause to his feet, his grip on the other wolf's cuffed paws was unbreakable. Nevertheless, Clause struggled against the officer, but to no avail. "You're under arrest." Wolford said, sounding happy about his successful arrest. "Don't worry, officer Wilde and officer Hopps, everything will alri..." Wolford stopped when he turned his head towards Nick and Judy.

Wolford's blood boiled, he saw Judy, one of his closest friends, unconscious and injured in the arms of her partner. Wolford remembered when he entered the warehouse and heard Judy's scream erupt from the door. He ran like hell into and through the hallway, hoping that it wasn't too late; that his friends weren't hurt.

"You did this!" Wolford growled at Clause as he turned the wolf to face him, his anger raised even higher as he recognised and realised that some of the blood on the criminal was Judy's.

"Yes, I did." Clause replied, sounding rather joyous and gleeful about what he did to the bunny. Clause noticed that behind the wolf officer in-front of him, Derik had his arms in the air as a rhino officer and hippo officer had their tranquilizers facing towards him. And, in a fit of rage, the wolf officer punched him in the face, hard. The force and strength of the impact made Clause's body spin around, facing Nick and the unconscious Judy as his face (once again) met with the metal floor. The constant barrage to Clause's head made him pass out into unconsciousness.

Nick growled at the unconscious Clause; every fibre of his being wanted to rip the wolf into confetti. His claws unsheathed, he didn't care if the fellow officers that he also considered as his friends were there, that bastard must pay!

But before Nick could act, he heard a sound come from Judy, a sound like breathing. He moved his ear to her mouth and heard it: breathing. She was still alive, there was a chance for her to survive!

The fox held the bunny close to him, almost rocking her. "It's okay Carrots, I got you. Everything's gonna be alright."

A gazelle paramedic approached the two, instantly causing Nick to bare his teeth towards him in a protective rage. "N-Nick," Wolford said as he came close to his two friends, a paw reaching out carefully towards them. "You need to give Judy to the gazelle so he-"

Wolford was cut off as Nick lashed his claws to the wolf's paw. Wolford was able to retract his paw, but only just in time.

"Don't you dare try to take her away from me!" Nick practically roared, a surprising feat for someone of his species. The look in his tear ridden eye looked... savage.

"Officer Wilde!" Bogo yelled, gaining all of Nick's attention. The cape buffalo came to the fox before clearing his throat, his tone becoming calm, even a little sympathetic. "You need to give officer Hopps to the paramedics, they are trying to help her." Coming to his senses, Nick (reluctantly) gave Judy to the male gazelle paramedic and a female bear paramedic who was with him.

Nick followed the paramedics as they left the warehouse. He watched as the paramedics placed Judy into the ambulance with carefulness that was near to uttermost, paying no attention as all other officers, with the exception of Wolford, began to leave.

As the ambulance drove off, Nick ran after it on impulse, stopping only as he realised that it would be impossible for him to catch it on foot. Even as the sun shone on a cloudless day, even as the rest of the world around him seemed to be at peace, all that Nick felt was his melancholy darkness.

* * *

 **Author's note: GAH! Sorry that It took me nearly three months to upload this chapter (X_X;). There's just been... a lot of things happening.**

 **Anyways, here's the second chapter. What do you think? Too dark? Not dark enough? Too short? Could've been better? Oh well, I hope that it was at least enjoyable. But I must admit that I'm a tiny bit iffy about this chapter.**

 **Either ways, the next chapter will be less dark and more character based... kinda (lol).**

 **Once again, I'm sorry that this chapter took too long to finish, I can sometimes be a total** ⑨


	3. Darkness Without Light

Even as the sun shinned brightly in the cloudless sky, everything felt dark. Even as the crisp air laid a gentle breeze, it felt like no oxygen was entering his lungs. Even as he was still alive and standing, it didn't feel like his heart was beating. That was what everything felt like to Nick Wilde as the light of his life was dimmed and taken away.

"Hey," a gentle voice spoke as a paw was put onto Nick's shoulder. The surprise caused Nick to jerk away by reflex. The owner of the gentle voice and paw was Wolford, a look of sympathy in his eyes. "She'll survive, I know she will." he said in an attempt to comfort Nick (and himself). It seemed to work, as Nick looked a little less sad, but only by a little, and even then it could have been feigned. "I'll take you back to precinct one, we'll get you washed and put into your spare uniform."

"Thanks." Nick said, his voice and eyes carried a hint of heartfelt gratitude. Wolford smiled before going to his cruiser. "Hey, um, Wolford." Nick said suddenly, causing the wolf to turn around with a confused look. "I'm... I'm sorry for trying to attack you earlier."

"It's ok, really it is." Wolford said, shaking his paws in-front of himself, his eyes closed and a small smile on his face while a sweatdrop went down the side of his face. He looked more like an embarrassed friend than he intended. "You were just shocked by how injured Judy was, by another wolf nevertheless, so you interpreted it as an attack. Besides, you missed, I'm alright."

Nick responded by a very light laugh, barely even a chuckle. The two canid officers entered Wolford's cruiser. "By the way," Nick said suddenly "nice punch."

"Heh, thank you." Wolford replied. "He definitely deserved it."

"I agree." Nick lied. The other officer believed the lie, turning on the engine of his cruiser as he started to drive them both to precinct one. _"That bastard deserved much worse than that."_ Nick thought as he was certain that all of Wolford's attention was directed at the road. _"He deserved death."_ he clenched his paws, his rage and anger towards Clause still burned hot.

The fox then looked down at his right paw; it was covered in blood, Judy's blood. It was only because he tried to stop the bleeding, not that he attacked or tried to kill her like that malefic wolf. But still, a part of him kept telling him that it was his fault, that he didn't try hard enough.

It didn't help that the appearance of Judy was stuck in his head, like a picture of that appearance was placed perfectly into his memory. What's more is that her words kept repeating in his head like a tape on auto-repeat.

 _'Does this feel unsettling? Yes, yes it does.'_

 _Three long cuts on her left leg that oozed her own blood._

 _'Should I be scared? Yes, yes I should.'_

 _A bloody on gash her right shoulder, with a piece of her broken shoulder blade was visible._

 _'But do I feel scared? No, no I don't.'_

 _The right-side of her right ear was bitten off, mostly likely in Clause's digestive system._

 _She then turned her face up to Nick, her eyes were amethyst diamonds that showed only warm-heartedness and friendship. 'Because I know that as long as you're by my side, I have nothing to fear.'_

 _A wide cut on her belly, blood poured from all sides. She layed unconscious in her own blood._

 ** _"It's all your fault and you know it."_** the all too familiar mental voice of the woodchuck ranger scout said in Nick's head. **_"I warned you that something like that would happen, but you did it anyways. You broke your oath towards her, and this is your punishment."_**

 _"Shut up!"_ Nick mentally yelled back at the woodchuck. _"I didn't do any of that,_ he _did it."_

 _ **"Oh ho ho ho."**_ the woodchuck chortled. _**"You know how much she trusted you, how**_ **safe _she felt with you, and you made that vow to yourself to protect her. It's as much of your fault as it is Clause's, if not more. You betrayed her, you_ fox _, you'd have to be the luckiest mammal on the planet if she loves you back, or if she even still likes you after what you did!"_**

Nick didn't bother arguing back, instead he opted to tune out the woodchuck's voice entirely. But his mind still lingered to the many myriad possibilities; would she forgive him? Would she hate him for this, demanding a new partner and leaving him forever? Would she fear him? Would she even survive?

Many possible outcomes played out in Nick's head, the vast majority of them being devastating to the fox; the devastation of him losing his little bunny. The fox shook his head to banish all possible outcomes from his head, not wanting to entertain his pessimistic conclusions any further.

When Nick returned to the real world, he noticed that he and Wolford had neared the ZPD. Shortly after getting washed and put into a spare uniform, Nick went to the Zootopia hospital.

"Where is she?" Nick asked the receptionist, a rather stout looking horse.

"I'm sorry sir, but could you please clarify." the horse receptionist responded, looking up from his computer and adjusting his rimmed glasses. "Because last time I checked, we don't have anyone named 'She'."

"He's referring to Judy Hopps." a voice from the side said. Nick and the horse receptionist looked to the voice's source. He was one of the doctors there, a wolverine in his late-thirties named Victor. Nick and Judy had became accustomed to the wolverine after their occasional visits to the hospital, either to see how well their co-workers are healing or because they had gone through minor injuries that wouldn't stay for longer than a week or two.

While not exactly friends, the duo and the doctor had taken a liking for one another.

"Ah, my apologies." the horse receptionist said candidly.

"It's alright, Bruce." Victor said in a reassuring tone. "To be frank, I only understood him because she was taken in earlier by Grant and Maria." Victor went next to Nick, putting his paw over Nick's back. "Come with me, I'll take you to your partner."

The two predators walked to Judy's room in silence, a gloomy feeling being exchanged between them. Nick knew that even though Victor only likes Judy, unlike Nick himself, who loves Judy unconditionally, he also feels great dismay towards Judy's current condition.

They made it to the room that Judy occupied. Nick felt his heart skip a beat upon sight. Judy layed unconscious on the hospital bed, attached to multiple hospital equipment, including a heart monitor; her vitals were low. The sight of her looking like this, unconscious and at Death's door, it looked... unnatural.

"She lost a lot of blood." Victor said, unease being present in his voice. "I may not be a man who believes in God and the magical, but I will admit that it is a miracle among miracles that she survived. If she was even a few seconds late, she would have..." Victor didn't finish what he said, the mere thought of what could happen was something that he couldn't bear.

"She is a rather strong and determined bunny, I wish that I knew that when she joined the ZPD." spoke a deep, earnest voice. The fox and wolverine looked back to see chief Bogo, with Wolford and Amy Pouncar, who was covered in dried mud for some reason, behind him. The two officers passed their chief to get a better look at their comrade.

Amy starred at the heart-wrenching sight with wide eyes and her ears so flat against her head that it was hard to distinguish if she even had ears. "Who... who would do this?!" she asked in a sombre tone.

"Some bag of shit named Clause." Nick growled in response.

"Wilde! Watch your mouth!" Bogo yelled/ordered at Nick. "You know how I feel about profanity!"

"Well sorry," Nick responded sarcastically "but how can I not see him as that? You saw what he has done to Judy."

"Ok, so we know who did it, but now we need to know why he did it." Wolford said, seemingly ignoring- and ending- the conversation between his co-worker and chief. "Nick, did you get any information on why he would do something like that?" he asked. The wolf's stare began to direct towards the unconscious bunny's left cheek, eyes widening in intrigue as he noticed that something was under the fur.

"From what I remember from his accomplice, they both have some weird, sick, twisted viewpoint on predators being natural superiors to prey." Nick answered. Upon his answer, Bogo and Victor seized up and exchanged worried glances of fearful knowing. Luckily, no-one seemed to observe their spontaneous and enigmatic behaviour and movement.

Wolford and Amy were left disgusted by what they heard, however, Wolford soon returned to his little inspection of Judy's cheek.

"W-Well..." Victor stuttered, an inkling of sweat descending down his head. "Judy still survived, and that's all that matters."

"Will she be up soon?" Nick asked Victor, a pleading look in his eyes, and an audible whimper.

"I'm sorry but... I can't say when or if she will wake up." the wolverine answered back in solemn sadness. "Like I said, it was a miracle among miracles that she survived the blood loss. Among that she may have suffered some shock from her physical injuries."

"How severe were they?" Bogo asked, his voice was gruffer than usual, indicating that he most certainly was not happy about anything that happened to the bunny cop. "The injuries, I mean."

"They differ." Victor replied. "The damages brought onto her ear and leg only resulted in a low blood loss. The damage that he did to her shoulder destroyed the rotator cuff, so we had to fix it with surgery. Her stomach resulted in the most blood loss, but the damage done to the organs were very minor, so they should heal soon. However, all injuries will leave her with scars."

"And three scars on her cheek." Wolford said suddenly, gaining a confused look from everyone else in the room, including Victor. "She has three scars on her cheek, look." Wolford used his fingers to move the fur on Judy's left cheek, revealing the scars. Victor took a good look at the scars before shaking his head side-to-side in a 'No'.

"I doubt that she got them today. From the looks of them, I'd say that she had them since she was a kit." Victor concluded, before turning to chief Bogo. "Chief Bogo, may I speak to you in my office?" the wolverine asked the police chief. Bogo didn't miss a beat before answering with a 'Yes'.

And with that, the buffalo and wolverine exited the room, leaving Nick, Wolford and Amy staring at the door, blinking in bewilderment. Nick soon stopped staring in confusion and sat on the seat that was nearest to Judy. Whenever it was consciously or subconsciously, Nick reached out for Judy's paw with his own, giving it a squeeze.

* * *

Victor and Bogo sat in the wolverine's office, the door being closed so no-one could overhear their conversation. Victor's paws kept becoming tense before returning to normal, the topic of their conversation was, in of itself, something that would be better left unspoken, so it didn't help that it hit Victor where it really hurt. The wolverine's guilt still weighted strong, even after all of these years.

"Listen, Victor..." Bogo said suddenly, an empathetic aura emitting from him, exposing the softer side of him that he preferred to remain hidden. "I know that the subject of the matter releases old wounds, to say the least. Especially because-"

"No no, it's fine." Victor intervened. The wolverine doctor looked back down at his paws, taking and exhaling a deep breath. "Its just that I hoped that I wouldn't have a patient, especially a close one, that would suffer such injuries from one of... _those_ kind of predators."

They both went silent, the only audible noise was the faint sound of hooves and paws connecting with the ground as multiple mammals walked around outside the office.

Victor exhaled again, turning his eyes to his right side, ears pinned against his head in shame. "For fourteen years of my life I was one of that kind of predator, the kind of predator that eats prey mammals." his eyes moved back to Bogo's, putting them back into direct eye contact with each other. "I mean sure I mostly ate berries, being a omnivore gave me that luxury, but my parents still made me eat meat, and it always felt wrong whenever I ate meat. I could tell that everyone else in the village saw me as being an outcast, that's what happens when you keep your meat eating to a minimum in a village populated only by meat-eating predators. Unless if you count the endless prey that were imprisoned."

Among those words, Victor's face changed from guilt-ridden to a grimace of hate and injustice, injustice towards the prey that suffered.

"But you're different." Bogo said. "You collected as many prey mammals as you could, ran away from your old home with those prey mammals, and contacted the ZPD as soon as possible."

Victor sighed as Bogo tried to make him feel better. "It doesn't change that for fourteen years of my life I let that happen to innocent prey. And you saw the look in the eyes of those who survived: fear and hatred. It's because of those kind predators that we suffer from the fears and hate of prey."

Victor was a little taken aback when a big hoof rested on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "It's not your fault, you are much better than that." he heard from the police chief. "You never felt like it was right, or even ok, when you ate prey mammals, and you tried to avoid that action as much as possible. You became a doctor solely because you wanted to help others. You are, in all honesty, one of the kindest mammals that I have ever met, Marcel."

Bogo immediately covered his mouth when he mentioned the wolverine's name, his _real_ name.

Victor did a little laugh. "I already told you, Bogo, my name's no longer Marcel; it's Victor, Victor Verine."

Bogo remained silent for a second or two before sighing in relief. "Well then..." the buffalo said. "It seems like you are in higher spirits. I should return to my officers." Bogo made his way to Victor's office door, but was stopped when the wolverine doctor started to speak again.

"He really cares about her." Victor murmured. Bogo looked back at Victor in confusion, to which the wolverine noticed. "Nick, he really cares about Judy."

"Yes, he and officer Hopps are not only partners, but also best friends."

"Yes, that is true, but I'm talking about it being more than that." Victor corrected. "It is clear that their relationship transcends just being friends and partners."

"R-really?" Bogo asked dumbfounded. He never saw anything wrong with pred-prey relationships, as well as had his suspicions, but he didn't suspect that he would find out by someone else.

"Yes." Victor replied almost nonchalantly. "I may not be good at reading others, but I know love when I see it, and from my limited interactions with the fox and bunny, I know that they truly love each other."

"So they are a couple?"

"No, they both love each other, but neither have told the other. They're too shy and afraid of any possible negative outcomes."

Bogo made a gruff hum before exhaling out of his nose. "I won't intervene, my dad always told me that love can only be revealed by itself, so I'll let them sort it out by themselves."

Bogo's hoof was only the most minimal of inches above the door handle of Victor's office, almost even touching it, when it turned by itself. The door moved to reveal a sheep nurse, younger than Victor by only three months and two weeks, her white nurse uniform was in deep contrast to her black wool.

"Oh, uh..." she remarked shyly. "Am... am I interrupting something?"

"No, it's alright, I was going to leave anyways." Bogo said, passing the ewe to enter the rest of the hospital. The chief closed the door behind him, leaving only Victor and the sheep nurse in the wolverine's office.

"My suspicions are confirmed, aren't they?" she asked Victor nervously, not wanting to open any old wounds that may have been resealed recently. "That her injuries are because of..." she was hesitant on finishing her sentence.

"Yes." Victor replied, he didn't sound emotionless, but he sounded relatively monotone. "It was because of _them_."

The ewe sighed in vexation. "So many mammals of Zootopia work hard to rise above the status quo of the primal times, but then there are those who want to rule over the other; put prey and predator in war where one comes out supreme." She began to tear up. "Why... why won't they leave us alone? Why won't they let prey and predator live in harmony."

"Because they aren't neither prey nor predator." Victor replied, his tone was almost cold. "They're monsters." He looked at the shocked expression on her face. "Sorry, I didn't intend to get you forced into my past."

"No no, it's okay." The ewe said, pulling Victor into a reassuring hug. "It's still a concept that I have a hard time comprehending, but when you first told me about it, I said that I would still stand by your side, and that hasn't changed to this day."

"Yeah..." Victor said, cupping the ewe's face to face his; he was wearing a charming smile. "You know, Val, you can be very marvellous when you're not being shy."

"W-Well its just that meeting people you don't know can be scary sometimes, the only reason why I'm a nurse is because you wanted to be a doctor." Val said, blushing.

"Still though..." Victor said seriously. "You've stood by me, even after hearing of my past sins, and you pushed past your shy nature to be near me while I'm at work. I just... I still have a hard time grasping why."

"It's simple." Val replied. "Because, you and I, we share an imperishable, unbreakable bond; our love for one another."

Victor and Val locked eyes, hearts beating in unison, lips touching; prey and predator taking in the taste of each other, taking in the taste of love. A burning pressure building in them both, one that could only be quenched by giving in to its need. But, they knew that now is not the time; their working hours. They'd have to throw this pressure, this passion, away until later; until they return home later that day. Despite his reluctant urges, Victor separated the kiss.

"I'm sorry, Val." Victor said wholeheartedly. "But not now, we need to wait until later."

"It's okay, I needed that." Val replied softly, giving the wolverine, her wolverine, a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the office.

Victor smiled and followed, he can't let his desires stop him from saving his patients. _"Still though..."_ Victor thought dubiously. _"If she really did have those claw marks since she was a kit, then Judy might be suffering though a hidden childhood trauma. And judging from her new wounds, I fear that there's a possibility that she could now fear all predators, forever."_

* * *

Nick was unsettlingly silent, staring down at the hurt bunny's body with cold eyes that looked almost dead, his paw holding an eternally strong grip on her own; almost a hollow husk of his former self.

Wolford watched with worry; one of his friends was unconscious, almost dead, and the other was emotionless. He needed something to break the tension, but what? Then a metaphorical lightbulb in the wolf's head turned on.

"Hey, Amy." Wolford called, getting the lioness' attention, and Nick's partially. "Why are you covered in dry mud?"

"Oh... that..." Amy replied in a almost awkward tone. "The lunatic, a beaver suffering from pyromania, was extremely slippery; every time I thought I caught him, he would escape from my grasp. I ended up chasing him into the Rainforest District, where the artificial rain made the mud all wet and annoying, so all this mud on me is wet mud that dried up from slipping constantly. But, since I wouldn't let him besmirch me, I caught him in the end."

"So you got covered in wet mud?"

"Yeah, I even lost my radio. _(Bogo is gonna kill me for that)_ "

"Then... how did you find out about Judy's current condition?"

"When I returned to change into my spare uniform I found Clawhauser crying. Granted, I'm not friends with him, but that doesn't mean I would let him cry. When I asked, he told me like I had him a gunpoint. Yeah, don't be surprised if the entire precinct finds out within an hour, maybe even half an hour." The lioness then turned to face Judy, and, to the surprise of Wolford and Nick, started to cry. Amy was usually blank-faced and placid, even if they occasionally saw her smile, so seeing her cry was almost shocking to the wolf and fox. "Please, Judy, please don't die. I... I can't lose my childhood best friend, not like this."

"YOU AND JUDY WERE CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS?!" Nick and Wolford asked/shouted.

"Yeah..." Amy replied, sniffing. "I was born in Bunnyburrow, where a lot of bunny jerks made fun of me because of my inexplicable black spot." She pointed at her left eye when she said 'inexplicable black spot'. "I... didn't really stand up to them, which may have caused me become a little bad at being social and friendly with others."

 _"Yeah, a 'little'."_ Nick mentally scoffed.

"One day, Judy and her big ears overheard them being jerks and she stood up for me." Amy said, her face and voice changed from sad to uncannily heartfelt and cheery. "We became friends over our weird pieces of black fur on our bodies; as in my left eye and Judy's ear tips. When my mum found out about Judy's heroism, she said that mammals like her are the ones that the world needs to become a better place. And, what's more, Judy's heroism ended up inspiring me to become a cop."

"Hold on." Wolford said, surprisingly stern. "If you and Judy were best friends, then why have we never heard of this before?"

"There was no reason in context." Amy replied nonchalantly. "We intended to go to Zootopia together, but when she was nine, and I was ten, it was a week or two before the Carrots Day Festival, and my family and I had to move homes. My uncle in Feline Valley, a location that was internationally away from Bunnyburrow, became greatly ill and needed family support. After four years of staying strong, he died."

"Wait." Nick said. "I thought you said that you worked at Taste of Instinct before Judy inspired you to join the ZPD."

"I didn't say that." Amy replied, a little annoyed. "I simply said 'I joined the ZPD because of Judy Hopps' and 'I worked at Taste of Instinct before working at the ZPD'. You really need to calm down with your assumptions."

Nick was left silent, once again he assumed that he knew about someone immediately after meeting them. _"I really need to calm down with my assumptions, don't I?"_ he thought to himself.

"Although..." Amy said, she was looking out the window, deep in thought. "I guess I've let the past and my ambition to be a police officer stop me from having friends, because outside of Judy and my family, I have very few. That includes my significant other." The lioness turned to the fox and wolf with a apologetic face. "I'm sorry for seeing any possible friendship between us as beneath me, to properly make amends for my wrong doings I hope that we can start a friendship, our friendship, anew."

Wolford stared at the lioness with his mouth hung open, still trying to process that these words were coming from Amy Pouncar- on her own accord! After a while, Wolford smiled. "Sure thing!" the wolf replied with a wink and thumbs up. "You're a part of the ZPD, of course I'll be friends with you. You can always have another friend."

Nick stayed silent, almost eerily. Wolford and Amy turned their heads to the fox. After a handful of seconds, Nick smiled. "I'm a fox, I know what it's like to be bullied by prey for almost no reason. And... if Judy's really an old friend of yours, then I guess the least I could do is try."

Then Amy made a face that Nick and Wolford have never seen done by her before. Or at least towards them, that is. It was genuine kindness. "Thank you." she said, a tear or two flowed down her eye. "I know Judy would be happy to see this."

"So about this significant other that you mentioned..." Nick said, a cocky grin growing on his face. "Is he blind and deaf and has absolutely no true taste in woman? Or did he lose a bet? Or maybe both, that's the most plausible."

"Just because we are now friends doesn't mean I will let you live after insulting my one true love!" Amy Pouncar growled, teeth bared, paw clenched in-front of her face, and a fire in her eyes that could set Nick ablaze.

"Sorry. SORRY!" Nick screamed, arms flailing around in terror. "Please let me live, O powerful and terrifying lioness from Bunnyburrow."

"Although, Nick does bring up a good point." Wolford said, paw rubbing his chin. "Aside from the fact that we just learned about their existence, if Amy has a significant other than we may be screwed. Amy alone is one of the most terrifying predators I've ever seen, her boyfriend must be one of the scariest predators that Zootopia has ever graced!"

For some reason, Amy was covering her mouth with a paw. Then the muffled noises came, and it became obvious that she was holding back laughter. Odd. "Oh Wolford, silly little Wolford." the lioness said between snorts. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Wolford gained a feeling that when he found out about Amy's significant other, he would be greatly surprised from the result. Once again, odd.

Amy's laughter started to die down, her face returning to a sad expression. The lioness turned to her unconscious injured rabbit friend, sniffling sounds escaped from her being as a tear or two seeped from her eye. Nick knew what she was doing all too well; she was bottling up her emotions.

"I... I just don't want to lose her." Amy said with a hint of a sob. "For her to just... to just _die_ like this is... is..."

"You don't need to worry for officer Hopps, officer Pouncar." the all too familiar voice of Bogo turned the three police officers to the boss. "Don't misinterpret me as heartless. I just know that even though most bunnies wouldn't stand a chance to what happened to her, she's not like most bunnies. It would take more than that to kill her."

Even though Bogo's words weren't the most heartwarming, they seemed to calm Amy anyways. "Thank you, Bogo. I needed a reminder that Judy's too strong and persistent to go down like that."

"That's good. Officer Wolford, officer Pouncar, I expect you two to return to the precinct in due time. Among that I expect you to change into your spare uniform, officer Pouncar." Bogo said unexpectedly, his voice held to same commanding tone as when he usually gives orders, yet was more light and pleasant than usual, implying that he was still being sympathetic (somewhat).

"Yes sir!" Wolford and Amy saluted, leaving the room afterwards.

"As for you, officer Wilde." Bogo said, turning a stare towards Nick. Usually, the fox may crack a joke about this, but not this time. Instead, he starred back at Bogo. Even if this buffalo is his boss, he wouldn't be separated from her. Nick didn't care if he recently learned to respect the police chief to a small degree, he wouldn't leave Judy at such a severe and vulnerable state. If Bogo were to dare to separate Nick from his Judy, then the fox will just have to show him what a _real_ savage predator looks like.

Bogo's stare lightened, his expression changing into something resembling a smirk. "I'll let you stay with officer Hopps, she needs you and you need her." Bogo turned, leaving the room. "But don't think this means that you can skip work tomorrow." the cape buffalo called behind his back.

Nick simply shrugged as he didn't really care for anything, as long as he is with his fading light he doesn't care about the situation. He only wants her to be safe. "Hang in there, Carrots, you'll survive, I know you will." Nick said to the unconscious bunny; more so to convince himself.

The fox moved his eyes to look at more of his rabbit's body, and he choked on his own breath. Her belly, there was blood! Blood that was growing more and more. She was bleeding by the belly, her stomach wound reopened. He put his paw where he remembered the wound being, its location was eternally engraved into memory, his memory. He was going to call for help, for medical staff.

But something was off. He didn't feel any blood, not even a tiny drop. He moved his paw to look at it; it was completely normal. Eyes moving back to her stomach, Nick saw that there wasn't any blood on Judy whatsoever. Not even a trace. Did he imagine it?

 ** _"Typical, you foxes always deceive others. That includes one of your own."_** Nick could hear the woodchuck ranger scout's voice, taunting him as usual. **_"You even deceive yourself. Tell me, how do you expect her to love_ you _, you scumbag."_**

Luckily (or not), the woodchuck ranger scout's voice was nearly mute to Nick; the fox was too engulfed in examining the injuries on Judy; injuries that would leave scars, one way or another. Nick growled silently, he will never forgive that black-furred bastard for what he did to Judy. The world around Nick blurred, his mind becoming clouded in thoughts; thoughts that were associated with anger, grief, and self-loathing.

Why did he let this happen? Why wasn't he stronger? Why did he break his sacred vow to protect someone who's life he considered to be above his own?

He's a failure. A scoundrel. The absolute worst that anyone could be. All of society's views on what a fox is was an improvement on who _he_ is, and his severely hurt friend- his severely hurt love interest- that layed in-front of him, having only just escape from Death's bony hands, was perfect proof of that fact.

"Ah, so this is where you two are." came a deep voice, making its way into Nick's clouded mind and catching his attention. When Nick directed his head to the voice's source, he found it to be none other than Finnick. The tod never understood how the fennec managed to be so small, and yet he possessed a voice deeper than most rhinos and elephants.

The fennec was in his usual clothes, although he also wore an additional open leather jacket, his arms crossed. The small fox's face held his usual emotionlessness, but also held a considerable bit of comforting empathy. Alongside the fennec was an arctic vixen who's scent held a trace of Finnick himself, making it evident to Nick that she was Finnick's 'lady friend' that he often mentioned. In all honesty, she was very easy on the eyes with her figure (by fox/vixen standards). Nick would admit that if his heart didn't belong to Judy (whenever the doe was aware or not) completely, he would ask the vixen if she had a sister that looked like her.

"This is my lady friend: Hanna Silverlight." Finnick said, gesturing a paw to the arctic vixen. The arctic vixen, Hanna, gave a little smile and shook paws with Nick. However, her pawshake was a little ungainly, as the vixen could feel some of Nick's intense unease. "And for the record, she is, as I said, _mine_ ; try to take her from me, and I will cut you into pieces." the small fennec said in a protectively jealous manner, ringing his arm around hers (as best as he could, at least).

"Don't worry, Finn, I'm already interested in someone else." Nick replied calmly and coolly. Finnick's expression softened, although there was a little sign in it that telled that Finnick not only already knew this, but he knew _who_ it was. A devilish grin formed onto Nick's face, giving Finnick a feeling that he won't enjoy what happens next. "Although your lady friend shouldn't be dating little kits."

"What?!" Finnick and Hanna asked in bemusement.

"Well, it's actually very simple." Nick explained. "A little kit is a young child, much like little Finn here," Nick's snicker grew as obvious anger and annoyance became apparent on Finnick's face "and since you, Hanna, are dating Finnick, you're dating a little kit."

Nick's laughter was barely contained as the fennec in-front of him was pushing his face into his paw, attempting to expel his anger. Nick may have been a changed fox from who he used to be, but if one thing were to never change, it was his humour; said humour including his enjoyment in annoying Finnick.

"I know he may sound and act like a fully grown adult, but he's barely out of his diapers." Nick continued, taking away what was left of Finnick's tolerance. A burning fire ignited in the fennec's eyes, and he growled through bared teeth.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Finnick yelled, jumping towards Nick with unsheathed claws. Luckily for Nick, Finnick was caught by Hanna before he could get close to the red fox. Even as he was held in the arms of his lady friend, with minimal effort, the berserk Finnick was still flailing his claws hopelessly at Nick, who was lying on his back and holding his stomach because it hurt from how hard he was laughing.

"I will admit, my Finnicky is on the smaller side of fox sizes." Hanna said, causing Finnick to stop and look at her, his eyes showing a mix of disbelief and hurt. "But the size isn't what matters, it's what you do with it; and my Finnick is a great example of that." Finnick's rage disappeared as he was reminded of one of the many reasons why he loved his vixen more than anyone else. "Especially in the bed." The artic vixen added in a sexual tone, making Finnick blush.

Nick was no longer laughing, in fact he was giving a dirty look towards the other two vulpine, especially Hanna. "I think I would have been better without knowing that." The tod said as he got off the floor.

"Well maybe if you weren't being the red devil and making fun of my man's size, I wouldn't need to say stuff like that." Hanna grumbled as she put the newly pacified Finnick back on the floor.

"It's okay, Hanna, he's just evil." Finnick said, glaring at Nick. "And after I went out of my way to get you something in your time of pain, Devil."

"Something for me?" Nick questioned, eyes widening with a sparkle. The fennec answered with a nod, he then reached into a pocket of his leather jacket before pulling out a familiar rectangular object: Nick's phone.

"I was considering givin' this to ya." Finnick said, holding Nick's phone in his paw. "But after what you just did, maybe you don't deserve such a gift."

"Come on, Finn, please." Nick said, his eyes showing a sorrowful desperation. "I need that... you may not understand why, but I did."

At first, Finnick didn't understand what Nick meant, but the fennec shifted his focus to Judy and the dots connected. Finnick and Judy may have only been friends and nothing more, but Finnick knows of Nick's true feelings towards Judy. Finnick had to use all of his willpower to keep even a single tear from escaping, because he realised that Nick's joke was only because the fox wanted to ease the pain caused by Judy's condition.

"Fine then, I'll give it to ya." Finnick said, walking to his friend. But as Nick reached for his phone, Finnick grabbed the other fox by the head so he could whisper into Nick's ear. " _Listen here, Nick._ " Finnick whispered. " _You may not believe this, but I_ do _know about how you really feel; I know that you love Judy. You promised yourself that you would always be honest with her- yes, I know_ that _as well- so if and when she comes back to consciousness, you must tell her, ok?_ "

There was a silence in the room. Nick starred at Finnick, flabbergasted at Finnick's unexpected knowledge, while the fennec stared back in full seriousness. Meanwhile, Hanna watched the two awkwardly since she didn't hear a single word of what Finnick said. After a few seconds of staring, Nick's face straightened and he nodded in response.

Finnick gave a small smile before returning to his usual expression, letting go of Nick's head and giving the aforementioned fox his phone. Nick turned on the phone, his eyes growing wide as he saw that his phone was on ninety-eight percent battery. The last time the fox looked at his phone it was on fifty-six percent, Finnick charged the phone.

"Wow, Finn, you even charged the phone."

"Yeah, I'm way too nice to ya." Finnick said, smirking slightly.

Hanna just watched in silence for a second or two before shrugging off whatever it was that was whispered between Finnick and Nick. The arctic vixen then looked at the bunny in the hospital bed, stepping closer until she was almost next to the doe, standing on the opposite side of Nick.

"So this is the famous Judy Hopps that my Finnicky talks about. Honestly, I wish we would have met at a time when she was conscious and unscathed." Hanna sighed, a sad look in her brown eyes. "Poor bunny, I never had much belief in the capabilities of rabbits and hares before hearing of her and her achievements. After hearing about how she and you, Nick, were able to achieve something that the ZPD couldn't, my eyes began to open up to the capabilities of rabbits, hares, and other smaller mammals."

The arctic vixen then walked back to Finnick, sadness remaining on her face. "If she survives, I hope we can be friends."

"She will survive, I know it." Finnick reassured Hanna. "Knowing her, she wouldn't let a shot to the chest bring her down."

After that, the tension seemed to dull, but was still present. Finnick and Hanna decided to leave shortly afterwards, telling Nick that they hope Judy will manage to recover soon, but all three of the individuals knew that all hopes of the bunny making a quick recovery from nearly dying was more delusional than anything.

Nick sighed, his paw moved to his chest; a small ache lingered there. His heart hurt. He needed someone. He needed Judy. Nick looked towards the unconscious doe, he needed her to heal the pain, but her current state was the reason for his pain; she was close, yet so far away.

And to put more weight on his shoulders, Finnick's words were crystal clear in his head. The red fox sighed again and looked down at his phone. He was currently going through his image gallery, looking at photos that mostly consisted of him and Judy. The current photo was of one that he took on a movie night; it was late, and Judy ended up falling asleep on Nick (or to be accurate, his tail).

She looked like a bunny angel from heaven. So calm, so secure. That bunny; his bunny; his Judy. The light to his darkness; the light that gave colour to his monochrome world.

Nick exited the image gallery and tapped on the 'call' app. The fox went to the contacts and clicked on the one that said 'Mum'.

* * *

When the fennec and arctic vixen where out of the hospital, most definitely out of Nick's earshot, Hanna spoke. "It is evident." Finnick looked up at his lady friend, an expression of confusion on his face from her odd and sudden words. "His true feelings." Hanna elaborated. "You've told me that he is in love with her, that she's more than a friend; his feelings for her are similar to our feelings towards each other."

"Yeah, his feelings towards her are true." Finnick said, resting his paws behind his head (to the best of his abilities, that is). "The only problem is that he desperately needs to grow a pair and tell her truth." Finnick then made a little groan. "And he always makes fun of me because of my height. When he tells her, I'm going to make fun of him endlessly for waiting too long."

"'Too long'?!" Hanna remarked, giving Finnick her own look of confusion. "Didn't you say that you were in love with me for three weeks before you confessed?"

"I've been noticing these feelings from him for a couple of months, the time it took for me to confess is nothing compared to how long he's making her wait." Finnick replied. The two foxes made it to Hanna's house and went in; Finnick decided that Nick should have some time alone if he was to return home.

* * *

Bogo was surprised by the sight that beheld him when he arrived at the ZPD. Upon entry, the water buffalo was disconcerted by the sight of Clawhauser, the usually excited and bubbly receptionist of the ZPD, frowning in an almost gloomy manner. There was something about the sight that the police chief found to be unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.

"You shouldn't be this miserable." Bogo told Clawhauser as he approached the cheetah. "We both know you're way too upbeat to be like that."

Clawhauser looked up at Bogo, his sad expression sent a twinge of pain and anger in the chief's chest. "It's just... I'm worried about Judy." Clawhauser sobbed quietly in a broken voice, tears escaping through the edges of his eyes. "It's just that... What if she doesn't survive? What if there was something I could do? Is this the end of Judy Hopps? What if-"

"Silence!" Bogo shouted, slamming his hoof on the reception table. The water buffalo looked around, scanning the rest of the ZPD meticulously. Clawhauser looked around and noticed that, apparently, there was no-one else in the ZPD. The cheetah soon realised the reason why, as one look out of the front windows showed that it had gotten dark outside. Particularly, between the daytime and nocturnal shifts.

Bogo then craned his head towards Clawhauser, his stare was fierce. "Get over here. Now." Bogo ordered, albeit he was surprisingly quiet and calm in tone. Clawhauser opened his mouth, about to argue against Bogo's order, but the cheetah decided to stop and comply as Bogo's stare was starting intensify slightly.

Clawhauser got out from the reception desk and approached Bogo. The cheetah felt a weird sensation of fear and nervousness grow inside him. Did he do something wrong? Was he in trouble? Was Bogo going to fire him? Was-

Clawhauser's thoughts were abruptly stopped when two muscular buffalo arms pulled him into a gentle embrace. The receptionist felt heat rise to his cheeks as he realised what was happening; Bogo, his normally stern boss, was holding him in a gentle embrace and rubbing his hoof on the back of Clawhauser's head in a circular motion.

"There, does that make you feel better?" Bogo asked softly, despite his deep voice, with concern. Clawhauser's heart was beating heavily against his chest. He knew that he and Bogo had a surprisingly close relationship, at least when the cheetah found out of Bogo's secret enjoyment of Gazelle's music, but there was something about this that felt strange. And yet, he was enjoying it.

"Y-Yeah, I feel much better." Clawhauser said softly as he nuzzeled into Bogo's big, firm chest. The cheetah could hear that Bogo's heart was beating as rapidly as his own. The strange feeling grew, and yet Clawhauser wanted more. It was foreign, alien, but also intoxicating.

Much like Clawhauser, Bogo felt a strange yet enjoyable sensation; a comforting warmth that spread throughout his body, originating from his chest. Bogo was always confused about how he felt about Clawhauser; while he certainty liked the guy, there were moments- much like the one that happened earlier in the morning- where the chubby cheetah made him feel something that no-one else made him feel.

Bogo's heart was beating without restraint, and the comforting warmth spread around his cheeks. The water buffalo pulled Clawhauser away. The two immediately locked eyes. Whenever it was involuntary or not, the two had their faces slowly coming closer and closer to each other. Or, to be accurate, their lips were slowly coming closer and closer to each other.

The two then stopped as their faces were only a few inches away from each other, their eyes were wide with a deep red flush on their faces. The two shared an awkward silent stare for a small while. Either ways, they could consider themselves lucky that the ZPD was oddly secluded for the time being.

"G-Get back to work!" Bogo ordered with a stutter, his deep blush ever present. The police chief then ran back to his office, faster than Clawhauser ever saw him run at prior. Clawhauser remained silent, even as he returned to his previous position behind the reception desk, he was going deep in thought.

Such an action was unexpected from a mammal like Bogo; he was usually stern and serious; the stereotypical no-nonsense police chief. But, then again, Bogo had a softer side that was undisclosed too most; the number of living beings who knew of this other side was near to none. A side that was softer, caring and warm. Clawhauser knew of this side of the buffalo. But still...

Bogo was never shown to be _that_ kind of affection before.

That kind of affection, it was almost like love. Clawhauser shook his head side to side, shaking away such a ridiculous thought. Love, how silly, they were boss and worker- they're supposed to be more professional than that. And even with that out of the way, they were still greatly different.

Clawhauser was openly fun-loving, Bogo preferred to keep that side of him secret. Clawhauser was a predator, Bogo was a prey. Clawhauser was extremely social, Bogo was more of the aloof type. Clawhauser was viewed by most to be unable to hurt even a fly, Bogo was highly respected among many mammals. Clawhauser had a body that was... tubby, to say the least.

And what about Bogo's body?

Bogo had a body that could only be described by Clawhauser as a divine gift. Those big, bulging arms and biceps that could rival rhinos. Those two gigantic, meaty pecs that the cheetah would sometimes imagine sleeping on as pillows. Broad shoulders and back. Legs that were small, but very fine. And that delightful, firm butt.

Clawhauser then stopped, his heart was pounding against his chest like it wished to escape. Ok, so Clawhauser liked Bogo- really, _really_ liked Bogo- but the buffalo most surely didn't feel the same way, right? In all honesty, Clawhauser didn't know how to think or feel for any of the myriad possibilities.

The receptionist was taken out of his deep thought when he saw a bobcat in a police uniform approach him; it was his replacement for the night shift. "Umm..." the night shift receptionist hummed. "Is something wrong Clawhauser?"

"N-No." Clawhauser stuttered an answer, shaking his paws defensively, sweat appearing on his brow. Clawhauser then moved out from the reception desk, allowing his night shift replacement to enter the aforementioned desk. If the bobcat noticed the sweat on Clawhauser's brow, he didn't say anything of it.

Clawhauser sighed after he exited the ZPD; after everything that has happened today, the cheetah almost wanted to just take a shower and then go to bed. Almost.

Meanwhile, Bogo was in his office, hoping to finish some paperwork before he himself had to go back home. However, the police chief found himself to be a little distracted because of a certain someone. A certain someone whose name started with 'Claw' and ended with 'Hauser'.

For almost a decade and a half, the police chief associated himself with being an asexual male. But there was something about Clawhauser that made him feel things that no one else made him feel. A feeling of a strange, almost desirable, passion.

"This is going to be a long night." Bogo muttered to himself, ignoring the tinge of a blush that caressed onto his cheeks as images of the fat and lovable Clawhauser kept entering his mind. It was going to be a long night indeed.

* * *

Nick sat sombrely on the chair that was closest to Judy, the only sound keeping away the complete silence being the constant beeping of the heart monitor connected to the unconscious doe. All that the reynard could feel was either pain or absolute numbness, his mind haunted by thoughts of self-loathing.

 _Weak_

 _Coward_

 _Untrustworthy_

 _Unforgivable_

 _Pathetic_

 _Traitor_

 _Scoundrel_

 _Failure_

 ** _Fox_**

Those were among the many countless descriptions and definitions that plagued his mind like an absolute disease. It couldn't and wouldn't stop; an unstoppable force. How could he get Judy to forgive him? Would she forgive him? Would she be able to _love_ him, after what happened? Would she even still be able to see him as a friend?

He would have to just give up on her loving him, he wouldn't even be too surprised if Judy wanted to get a different partner after what he did. To see her vibrant smile, to see her look at him with unbounded trust, to feel her embrace, to hear her laugh. It was a delusion; he had entered the realm of being unforgivable.

And each thought of her rejection, of her leaving him forever, induced pain into his chest- his heart. Pain that was nothing less than being stabbed repeatedly by a sharp knife coated with the most venomous and malicious of poisons in existence.

Both routes- both primary possibilities- were too unacceptable for the tod. The prospect of her not forgiving him, of hating and leaving him forever, was akin to a bullet through the chest; he would end up losing the will to live. And the prospect of her forgiveness was incredulous.

"Nicholas?" a feminine voice called, one that, while unheard for years, was still unforgettable to the red fox. Nick turned his head to a vixen who was somewhere in her fifties; his mother. Mrs Wilde is (as said) a vixen who was somewhere in her fifties; giving birth to her first (and subsequently only) kit in her early twenties was something she wasn't prepared for, but in the end, she and her husband managed to raise him well.

For the first few years, that is.

When your entire species is viewed by many as being inherently traitorous, a 'happy life' is merely a delusion. In actuality, a delusion is putting it kindly.

In the end Mr Wilde, Nick's father, an honest and fair tailor man, was once requested to the service of a crime boss. While the crime boss wasn't as feared or as powerful as Mr Big, he was still very well feared and powerful in his own right; that is including having goons that can get rid of most mammals who fall upon the misfortune of his vengeance and abhorrence.

And so, an anonymous crook decided to sabotage the suit that Nick's father was requested to tailor. The crime boss was beyond enraged, and Nick's father, being a fox, had to suffer the consequences. One night, while a young and little Nick was fast asleep in his bed, the Wilde family received a knock on their door.

Confused, yet still well awake, Nick's parents exchanged glances before Mr Wilde answered the door. The sudden guest was a jackal and a business suit and sunglasses. The fact that he was wearing sunglasses when it was not only dark, but also raining, unnerved Mrs Wilde.

"Are you John Wilde?" the unknown jackal asked, his voice was monotone and dry.

"Y... Yes." John answered.

"Good..." the jackal answered, he then smiled. It was creepy, his smile was so crooked and uncanny that it seemed as though he didn't do it normally. The jackal than suddenly raised a gun to John's forehead, the married foxes were paralysed in fear. "I've already done my job."

"Wh..." was all that John could mutter before the trigger was pulled. Blood and brain matter exploded out of the back of John's head as a bullet shot through it. Mrs Wilde fell to her knees, paws covering her mouth in horror. The jackal just merely closed the door, and that was the last that the newfound widow ever saw of him.

After god knows how long, Mrs Wilde got of the ground and went upstairs to check on Nick. She open his door to find him still asleep in the serenity of innocent obliviousness. She quietly closed the door behind herself, as soon as the door was closed she cried; her husband is dead, she is now left alone to look after her family, and how can she bring herself to tell her son that his father was killed in-front of her eyes while he slept blissfully.

And now back to our story.

"Hey Mum." Nick replied, trying to feign his happiness. However, his emotional hurt and pain was still too much, and thus he couldn't properly enact his façade. Nick's mum could easily see that her son was hurt, the sight breaking her heart. Steadily, Mrs Wilde approached her son before giving him a comforting hug. Nick seemed anxious and uncomfortable in her arms before slowly giving into her embrace.

Mrs Wilde's eyes then moved towards the hospital bed where Judy laid, unconscious. The sight broke Mrs Wilde's heart even further, the old vixen couldn't thank the doe enough for reuniting her with her son and saving him from societies stereotype of a fox. Ever since he returned from the Junior Ranger Scouts, there was an emptiness inside Nick's eyes that Mrs Wilde noticed; an emptiness like he lost his will of self. But after meeting Judy, that emptiness was filled; like Mrs Wilde's long lost child had finally returned. Because of this, Mrs Wilde grew to love Judy like a daughter.

"Oh Nicolas..." Mrs Wilde said, cupping Nick's face in her paws, pure sympathy in her eyes. "I know it hurts. I may not feel as much pain as you do, but I still understand that the sight hurts you dearly." Mrs Wilde pulled Nick into another hug for who knows how long before facing him again. "She'll make it, Judy's a strong bunny."

"I know Mum, I know." Nick replied earnestly. "But that's not why I called you to come here."

"Bu... but didn't ask me to come here about Judy?"

"I did Mum, but it's not about... that." Nick answered, turning his head towards the hospitalized Judy sadly before facing his mum again. "As you know, I'm best friends with Judy."

"Yes, I know, and I'm supportive of your friendship." Mrs Wilde said with honesty and truth. This made Nick feel more confident in what he was going to say.

"But you see... the thing is..." Nick gulped before taking a deep breath to reassure himself. "The thing is that I want to be _more_ than just a friend, best or regular. You see Mum, I _love_ Judy."

"N-Nicholas..." Mrs Wilde gasped in an almost hushed voice, her eyes wide. "I... I-"

"I know Mum." Nick interrupted, looking down at the floor in a shame-like emotion. "It's unnatural, it's unreal, it's the exact definition of wrong. But it's true, I love Judy, even if she's a bunny and I'm a fox. She's the light of my life; my reason for living. When the world turned its back on me, I did the same; but Judy grabbed my paw and dragged me back into the world; back into the light."

Mrs Wilde stared at her son in astonished amazement, surprised and touched about how far her son has went since that dreaded incident at the Junior Ranger Scouts.

"I told you this because I'm adamant about my decision." Nick said, staring at his mother in a more serious expression. "Whenever you approve or not, whenever you're ashamed, doesn't change anything. I know I love her, that I place her above anyone else. Even if this is a one-sided love, I will continue to love Judy Hopps until the day I die and beyond."

After that, Nick fell down onto his knees, ears pinned so back that they almost blended with his head while his expression held as an almost grimace. Nick stayed like this until he felt gentle, old paws cup his face, pulling it up to the face of his mother; there were tears in her eyes, yet she was smiling. They were tears of joy.

"Nicholas, I am not ashamed, I am not disappointed, and I am not against it in any way." Mrs Wilde spoke to her son gently, her voice as soft as an angel's. These were mother-son moments that Nick had missed for many years. Mrs Wilde had taken her paws away from Nick's face, but continued to speak.

"Even if you are a fox while she is a bunny doesn't matter to me; she is the heroine that saved you from the hell that society threw you in, and I already love her like a daughter." More tears of joy escaped Mrs Wilde's eyes silently as she spoke. "I wouldn't mind officialising your hopeful love; Nick, if this love isn't one-sided, you and Judy have my blessing."

Tears welled up in Nick's eyes and, before he knew it, he was crying in his mother's loving embrace. She approved, his mother accepted his love of Judy Hopps. There would be many hurdles in Nick and Judy's relationship, if it is a possibility, so Nick was happy that he got past the hurdle of his Mum's approval. Now if he can overcome the hurdle of Judy's parents approval.

"Thank you Mum..." Nick said as he and his Mum separated from their embrace, his own tears of joy escaping his eyes. "I cannot describe how thankful I am that you approve of my feelings towards Judy."

"It's alright Nicholas, I just have one request."

"And what is that, Mum?"

"That you and Judy give me grandkits." Mrs Wilde replied joyfully, sparkles were seemingly emitting from around her and were in her eyes.

" ** _What!?_** " Nick screamed, a deep, red blush appeared on his face underneath his red fur. Did... did his Mum really suggest that he and Judy would...! Surely not, right?

"Grandkits." Mrs Wilde answered casually. "I don't care if they are adopted or made because you and Judy get physical, I just want one grandkit before I die."

Nick's face twisted into disgust, although his blush had deepened even more when his mother said 'you and Judy get physical'. Now it felt like a sensational fire was burning under the skin of his cheeks.

"You... you disgusting, old hag!" Nick shouted, pointing at his Mum with a shaking poor. "Why... why would you say something like that about your son right in-front of him?!" Mrs Wilde's mouth was open in an 'o' shape before turning into a smug grin of her own.

"Oh, my breaking heart!" Mrs Wilde said with feigned pain, although unlike Nick it was really obvious that it was fake. Nick most certainly didn't inherit his acting talent from his mother. "I fear that you may kill me with a broken heart before the first grandkit!"

Nick then started grumbling under his breath while his mother laughed, her paw covering her mouth. After a short while, Mrs Wilde stopped laughing and patted her son on the head.

"She'll make it through." Mrs Wilde said, looking at her son with caring, loving eyes. "I know Judy Hopps, she would never leave you like that."

"Thanks Mum." Nick replied, tears of joy escaping his eyes once again. Mrs Wilde gave her son a kiss on the forehead and started to leave, yawning about how tired she was starting to feel. After his mum left, Nick turned back to Judy, tears of joy turning into tears of sadness. Nick walked up to the unconscious doe, gently stroking her face. "I know you will make it Carrots, you wouldn't leave me just yet."

Nick looked back at the three scars on Judy's cheek, growling in anger that someone dared to scar his bunny. He'll find whoever did that to her and make them pay. Calming down, Nick planted a kiss on Judy's forehead before leaving her room and the hospital, a growing seed of gloom in his heart.

"Don't leave me now, Fluff, I need you more than ever."

* * *

Nick was walking through a long and vast hallway made of metal. There was no source of light, yet the hallway was as clear as day, albeit expect for the corners; a possible result of being a species that was originally nocturnal. The metal that made up the hallway looked new and shiny, if it wasn't for the few bits of rust that were on the surfaces of the metal tiles.

Nick couldn't remember coming across this hallway, nor entering it. In fact, all that Nick knew about this inexplicable hallway was that it was of indefinite length with seemingly no beginning or end.

After what felt like countless hours of walking, a loud scream echoed from the direction that Nick was heading. The scream was one that made Nick's heart stop; it was Judy's. Abandoning all common sense and everything else of his logical side, Nick ran as fast as he could to the scream, determined to protect his bunny.

The fox ran as fast as he could until he reached a room at the end of the hallway, where the gruesome body of a bloody, maimed, and very dead Judy Hopps laid. Nick's heart sunk into an abyss, the reynard ran to the doe's corpse, holding it in his arms as he cried for hours until his misery was changed into pure rage.

"Who did this?!" Nick growled, even though he knew that there was nothing that could hear or answer him. Nick turned his head back to Judy's corpse, tears of sadness turned to tears of rage. "I'll find who did this to you, and when I do... I'll _kill_ them!" After that, Nick closed his eyes, seemingly mourning the death of she who he loved the most.

"It was you who killed me, Nick." Judy's voice said from beneath him, the tod looked down to see the bunny's corpse looking up at him, her dead eyes filled with hatred and betrayal. "You were the one who killed me. You promised to protect me, but you didn't, just like a fox. If you were stronger, I would be alive, my death was your fault."

Before Nick could deny or confirm the carcass' words, the bunny then became completely lifeless again. Nick stared down at the body of the dead rabbit that was cradled in his arms, tears welling in his eyes as he felt that Judy, the one who he loved more than anyone else in the world, blamed and hated him for what happened to her.

"You don't deserve her, you scumbag." Nick heard his own voice talk even though he didn't say anything. Nick looked where he heard his own voice speak from, seeing his reflection staring at him angrily through the metal. Nick was bewildered by the should-be-impossible phenomenon that was his own reflection criticizing him, the aforementioned reflection continuing to scowl at him.

"You're a weak coward, an untrustworthy liar, an unforgivable scoundrel; it's because of you that Judy his hurt; because of you that Judy may die." Nick's reflection continued, holding his Judy close to him an almost protective manner. "You are still the stereotype of foxes viewed by society, in fact you are the very definition and embodiment of what the world believes a fox to be."

Nick's reflection then gently put his Judy down, who's wounds inexplicably began to reverse in time; healing completely in milliseconds. The reflection of Nick came closer and closer until he passed right through the metal wall; completely removing him from being a reflection.

The angry, growling reflection came closer and closer to Nick on all fours; almost like a primal beast. But the freakiest thing of all was that as the reflection became closer, it began to change. With every step, the reflection grew in size, its hair began too look wild and uncontrolled. Its teeth turned sharp; sharp enough to cut clean through rock and stone. The reflection's muscles grew in mass quicker than the rest of its body, giving it an even more monstrous appearance.

Nick was paralyzed in fear; his heart was beating at a quick and unsteady pace; the monster that his reflection turned into was big enough to swallow him in a single gulp.

"You are undeserving of all trust, Nicholas Wilde." The reflection said, its voice was very noticeably deeper and gruffer. "There is not one mammal in Zootopia who will be safe if they chose to associate with you; they will be either betrayed by you or hurt. You see everything and everyone as a pawn to gain money and power; your compassion and friendship towards others are purely skin deep."

And then, with gentleness one would never expect from something with gigantic and sharp claws, the reflection of Nick picked up the carcass of Judy, not even a single additional scratch appearing on her already mutilated body. Nick was unable to move his body when his reflection took Judy into the metal wall that it came from, watching helplessly as the one that he loved was taken into a place that was impossible for him to enter.

It was only after both forms fully entered the metal wall that Nick could move his body again; saying it was too late would be an understatement. Nick rushed to the metal wall, slamming his paw against it with repetitive and powerful force. Nick screamed Judy's name, his voice full of desperation as tears streamed out of his eyes like a hose.

As the fox continued to cry his eyes dry, the inexplicable light source for the room began to dim as the darkness in the corners of the room were seemingly spreading; covering the room in darkness until the room was no longer; all that existed was a black void that held a red fox floating in it.

As soon as Nick noticed what had became of the no longer existent room, the darkness that the void was made out of began to spread onto _him_. The darkness spread over from the claws of his hind paws and fore paws, making them completely unnoticeable compared to the vast void. Nick watched with wide eyes as the darkness spread over his entire body, the aforementioned darkness having completely absorbed his lower body side.

The red fox who was consumed in his own turmoil tried to scream but found that he couldn't, his voice was caught up in his throat like drainage waste in a clogged pipe.

The darkness crawled through his fur and into his skin, polluting his bloodstream and absorbing his cells. Nick tried to fight back, but- in a morbid acceptance- he started to find the darkness to be... comforting. As the black tendrils of his sorrow absorbed more and more of his being, Nick desired for it to absorb him faster; to consume him until not even a vague memory remains.

The darkness coated his body until only his head remained; his head that also became absorbed into the void. All aspects and particulars of Nick Wilde had became one with nothing, and Nick Wilde had ceased to continue existing.

* * *

Nick suddenly shot upwards from his where he laid on his bed; the canid awoken from his slumber by the nightmare born of his heart. Nick's heart was beating like a high-speed motor car fuelled by pure adrenaline and nothing else. Nick clung to his bed tightly, his claws almost ripping into his bed; the tod took quick, frantic and deep breaths that were almost comparable to a rhino having a panic attack.

Nick was covered from head to hind paws in sweat, making his fur and vest top stick to him like glue. The pounding and ringing of Nick's heartbeat was a chorus inside of his head that resonated around his entire body and being.

The clouded fog that surrounded Nick's mind began to clear away as his brain started to determine the boundary between his nightmare and reality. The frantic deep breaths withered into calmed and silent substitutes; the speeding heart had also calmed and no longer felt like it was trying to burst out of Nick's chest.

The tension that coiled around Nick's body had loosened into near nonexistence, but just because everything was fine and dandy and whatnot physically didn't mean that everything was alright on Nick's psyche.

Even as Nick deduced that he was in his bedroom instead of a infinite void of nothingness, the truth remained infallible whenever it was dream or reality: Judy was thrown onto Death's door. His little bunny mauled by a sadist among wolves. And it was his fault, because he was too weak to hold on to his oath.

The tod, who was beyond just being forlorn, began to cry a tremendous plethora of tears until his energy was depleted into an absolute zero. With nothing remaining of his energy, Nick faded back into the world of the unconscious, where another nightmare moulded by his grief and anguish formed into existence and breached his mind.

Needless to say, in a night of constant going in and out of slumber, Nick found himself with very little sleep that night.

* * *

It became a constant, a new status quo of life by other words. It started when Nick came back to the ZPD the day after his night of endless tear-jerking nightmares, the red fox was noticeably different in attitude and behaviour; his smile looked fake and lacked the energy it had around twenty-four hours ago, his jokes lost their original flare and everything else of the old and snarky Nick had came off as forced.

Many of Nick's co-workers and even the reynard himself had just assumed that Nick was a little sleep deprived, but Nick still couldn't fully shake off this crushing feeling on his shoulders, nevertheless Bogo decided to give Nick patrol duty because of both sympathy for the fox and belief of his slight sleep deprivation.

While sleep deprivation did have a play in Nick's new behaviour, it didn't dictate it entirely. It may have left him groggy and impatient, but did it justify the numb pain that planted itself in the centre of his heart? Did it explain that with each passing minute a slight shade of colour was taken away from the world so subtly that it was only noticeable at the end of the day that Nick's world was turning into a dull, grey monochrome?

The next day and night were nothing more but a repeat of the preceding day and night; Nick would get little sleep due to constant horrific nightmares of Judy dying that would wake him and put on a obviously fake façade of happiness, all while the numb pain would grow and the colours of the world would dim.

And it all happened again. And again. And again. Day and night after day and night these mini-events had transpired in a repeat. Until eventually the numb pain had fully grown over Nick's heart, and numb pain had became the totality of Nick's heart. Eventually Nick had became used to the nightmares, the fox would no longer wake up from his nightmares after the darkness absorbed him.

The darkness had absorbed Nick in both his dreams and real life.

The tod had accustomed to the numb pain that was now his heart, the world was a monochrome of pure and absolute grey; or at least that is what had became of the world through his eyes.

Nick's personality was also noticeably different to what it was beforehand, whenever it was his real personality or the façade, it was easy to tell the difference. The usually amused and gleeful smirk was replaced by a grim frown, the jokes and kindness that were previously expressed were no longer there; the usually jokey fox had now displayed a more serious side that was dark and even a little brutal.

He may have looked and sounded the same, but the Nick Wilde that the ZPD was seeing before them wasn't the same Nick Wilde from before. After all, those eyes that used to be full of life looked so dead and dull that you could believe they would turn grey.

The only trait, if you could call it that, that remained of the original Nick Wilde was that he would visit the unconscious Judy Hopps daily. Ever since the poor bunny was put into hospital, not a single day passed that Nick wouldn't see her; the light that protected him from the darkness that lurked in his heart. Even as he became different and distant, Nick wouldn't stop visiting Judy; like the command was inscribed in his brain.

Occasionally others would also visit, such as Finnick and Hanna's continuous attempts at comforting him, although their efforts began to waver as Nick's heart grew more numb.

He had lost hope, he no longer had the belief that Judy, his Judy, his bunny, would come back; she would eternally stay in what was otherwise a comatose state until the end of time. He only continued to visit his bunny because hey, a dim light in the darkness is better than no light at all.

"Is she any better?" the concerned and familiar voice of Mrs Wilde asked, entering the hospital room and taking the last possible seat; the other seats being taken by Nick, Finnick and Hanna.

The three other foxes in the room remained silent, like there was nothing to say about the subject at paw. The complete inaudibility of all voices in the room were enough to make an answer.

Mrs Wilde's heart broke at the sight of her son's eyes: lifeless and inanimate; just like the eyes painted onto a doll. The light that shined behind Nick's eyes that told Mrs Wilde that her son was still alive and in there was gone.

The overhanging gloom in the room was almost suffocating; an airborne parasite that sought to assimilate and absorbed everything and everyone in its path.

"Well... I'm sure there's a silver lining in here somewhere..." Mrs Wilde said, wanting- no, _needing_ to find the aforementioned silver lining; she can't just abandon the happiness that life gave her after many painful years. "Maybe she'll wake up tomorrow, or-"

"There is no silver lining." Nick interrupted, his voice was so emotionless and monotone it was nigh unrecognisable, turning his head so his lifeless were looking at mother instead of empty space. "We're foxes; the cold hard truth is that we can't be happy. We always think that our lives are going smoothly, but then the world reminds us that we must always be miserable because of what we are. Reality is cruel sadist, so Judy will never recover because of how much she means to me."

The room had became silent again, the three other foxes stared agape at Nick as the red fox repositioned his head into its original state; staring blankly at an empty space of nothingness.

Those words... their absolute loss of hope... the indubitable pessimism that was found in every word and syllable... it was heartbreaking. And for Mrs Wilde to hear those words from her only living family member, her heart was on the verge of shattering.

Mrs Wilde was about to say something in a last effort to bring something of semblance of her son back, but stopped when a soft groan was heard. A groan that came from the unconscious bunny in the hospital bed.

All eyes, even Nick's, turned to the aforementioned bunny. Judy's body began to shuffle slightly, a light reappearing in Nick's eyes. Something akin of a murmur left the doe's lips.

And, after what felt an eternity, beautiful purple eyes reopened to the world.

* * *

 **Author's note: And that's chapter three finished (finally!). I didn't expect it to be this long (as in both the length of the chapter and the time it took to make it), but y'know, things happen and such...!**

 **I guess the two main reasons why this took so long (outside of this chapter being long) are that I only sometimes have my writing muse; some days I have it, some days I don't. And I'm not on my computer 24/7 (of course XD)**

 **Its probably made worse that I am also writing other (not Zootopia related) fics that require my writing muse (seriously Meta?!).** **Yeah, I also _really_ need to rewatch Zootopia 'cause I haven't watched it in a while despite having it on DVD (¬_¬).**

 **Anyways, see ya in three or four or five months. Ciao~!**


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